Harris Blitzer Sports activities & Leisure (HBSE), house owners of the Philadelphia 76ers, employed former Golden State Warriors common supervisor Bob Myers away from ESPN on Friday. The transfer ought to put Sixers group president Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse on discover.
Myers gained 4 titles as GM of the Warriors, overseeing a redemption from a league-wide laughingstock to one of the profitable and beneficial franchises in sports activities. After 11 years with the group, he left in 2023 to change into an analyst for ESPN, however labored as an advisor for HBSE once they took over the Washington Commanders. Myers then helped engineer a turnaround that noticed a 4-13 group in 2023 win two playoff video games and attain the NFC Championship Recreation in 2025.
HBSE can have Bob Myers oversee a number of sports activities
Josh Harris and David Blitzer do not simply personal the Commanders. They purchased the 76ers in 2011 and added the NHL’s New Jersey Devils to their portfolio in 2013, and in addition personal shares in NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing and Premier League soccer membership Crystal Palace.
Myers labored with Harris carefully because the Commanders assembled their new management group in early 2024. That may doubtless proceed, however the 76ers are the group within the HBSE portfolio that appears to be struggling essentially the most. They have not superior previous the second spherical of the NBA playoffs since 2001, regardless of having an MVP heart in Joel Embiid and a number of high-priced All-Stars like Paul George and Tyrese Maxey.
The 76ers entered final season with championship aspirations however completed 24-58 after an injury-plagued yr. This season, George and Embiid are nonetheless injured. For a group that is paying three gamers most salaries, one other failure to contend may very well be an excessive amount of for possession — particularly once they simply employed essentially the most profitable NBA government of the final decade.
Daryl Morey and Nick Nurse could be out of excuses
After 13 very profitable years with the Houston Rockets, Morey joined the 76ers in 2020. Throughout his tenure in Houston, the Rockets made 9 playoff appearances, together with two journeys to the convention finals (dropping to Myers’ Warriors each instances), and by no means had a dropping report. With the Sixers, issues have not gone almost as properly, from hiring and firing Doc Rivers as head coach, to signing George, to giving the injured Embiid a three-year, $193M extension.
Former Sixers stars James Harden and Ben Simmons have overtly feuded with Morey, with Harden calling the team president a “liar” and Simmons refusing to play for Philadelphia within the 2021-22 season. The 76ers have had success within the common season, however are 3-4 within the playoffs through the Morey period.
Nurse got here to the 76ers in 2023 after profitable a title with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. He hasn’t had a wholesome Embiid for the reason that center of the 2023-24 season, but it surely’s exhausting to think about he has a lot job safety after final yr’s catastrophe.
Given the success the Commanders had once they changed their earlier executives and coaches, it should be tempting for HBSE to do the identical with their struggling basketball group — particularly with a well-connected basketball knowledgeable like Myers on board.
This yr is a pivotal one for a lot of inside the Sixers group — particularly for the top coach and group president, whose futures could hinge on how issues unfold.
