Robb: Sixers' hire of Daryl Morey adds another challenge for Celtics

The case for the Atlantic Division being the toughest spot for any team in the NBA during the upcoming 2020-21 regular season was already quite strong before this week began. Four franchises were already projected to make the playoffs within that group (Boston, Toronto, Brooklyn, Philadelphia) and a rebuilding Knicks team looked primed for improvement with a new front office and a proven head coach (Tom Thibodeau) in place to help lead the turnaround. With the NBA expected to lean heavily on divisional opponents for the 2020-21 season to reduce travel amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Celtics were going to have a tough matchup on their hands most nights against the rest of the Atlantic.

The calculus on that front got a little bit tougher on Thursday amid multiple reports that the Sixers were on the verge of hiring former Rockets GM Daryl Morey to head basketball operations. Morey left his Rockets post just days ago, setting the stage for him to head back to the Eastern Conference and help a Philadelphia franchise that has been full of dysfunction and front office missteps over the past couple of seasons.

Before Morey’s hiring, the Sixers were largely viewed as an afterthought in the Eastern Conference tier of contenders, with their title odds as low as 33-to-1 in some sportsbooks, a far cry from a team that was viewed as the top threat to the Bucks in the East a year ago.

A steady stream of bad signings and offseason choices quickly sunk the Sixers’ title hopes and future flexibility last year with general manager Elton Brand at the helm. Al Horford’s four-year contract was viewed as an overpay at the time but it looks like an albatross after just one season. Tobias Harris is arguably the most overpaid ‘max’ player in the NBA after a dismal performance in Philly’s first-round sweep at the hands of the Celtics. Letting Jimmy Butler walk to lock up those two guys (and Josh Richardson) was a decision that could leave a lasting negative imprint on this franchise for most of the next decade.

The Celtics have benefitted from the dysfunction in Philly for the past few years, both from a coaching and front office standpoint. Brad Stevens bested Brett Brown in their postseason matchups, while GMs Bryan Colangelo and Brand squandered a treasure chest of draft assets and payroll flexibility left over from the Sam Hinkie era with far more misses than hits in their decision making.

Those inherent advantages for Boston are no longer there entering this offseason — both on the court and in the front office. Doc Rivers is a proven head coach that will at least demand respect from All-Stars like Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. He won’t be able to turn the team’s mismatched parts around on his own but he is certainly capable of getting through to both those guys and raising their individual games to a higher level in the postseason. That's something we never saw consistently from Brown.

The bigger shift though for Philly comes with the Morey hiring though. He’s a savvy front-office mind who has thrived making the best out of limited means for his entire career in Houston. With an ownership group with far deeper pockets in Philly, Morey is well-positioned to make the most out of a challenging roster situation that this team is facing for the next couple of seasons.

The good news for the Celtics in the interim is that it’s going to take some time for Morey to clear up Philly’s books unless he’s willing to make a big move like breaking up the Simmons/Embiid duo. Otherwise, it’s going to be hard to find a team willing to take on the contracts of Horford or Harris in this economic climate with the salary cap staying flat. Outside of four second-round draft picks this season, the Sixers don’t have much excess draft capital left over from the Hinkie days. From a roster talent standpoint, Josh Richardson and Matisse Thybulle are the only guys that have value on this roster beyond Philly’s stars and those two aren’t going to push the needle much.

While Morey may be stuck with some of Philly’s ugly deals for at least one more year, he knows how to put a balanced roster together. The Sixers have been in desperate need of a true point guard for a couple of years now and you can bet that will be at the top of Morey’s shopping list this fall via trade or free agency. He’s also well experienced at finding reclamation projects off the scrap heap as he showed time and time again in Houston and that’s something the Sixers will need to do to push themselves back towards the top half of the East.

A look at the brainpower around the rest of the Atlantic Division signals the challenge that the Celtics have on the horizon as well. Masai Ujiri and Nick Nurse have been two of the best in the league for the last few years in Toronto and aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. The jury is out on the Steve Nash coaching era in Brooklyn, but Nets GM Sean Marks has a few appealing contracts to use to help land a third star around Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. The Knicks have a completely new front office and head coach (Thibodeau) along with a ton of cap space if they want to use it this offseason. It’s going to take them a year or two to build up some talent to compete, but after years of bad hires, they finally have a group in place that at least has a chance to succeed.

Perhaps most importantly, all of these Atlantic division owners have deep pockets. Morey has never had the benefit of running a team that is willing to spend big into the tax and that should make the Sixers a more dangerous threat for the entire East for years to come with a creative mind at the helm.

For years, the Eastern Conference was considered a step below the West when it comes to top-tier talent and contenders. Morey’s hire is one more signal that those days are changing. With smarter minds taking control among regional rivals, the road to the NBA Finals just got a bit tougher for Boston in the long term.