In the latest round of NBA rumors, the Philadelphia 76ers reportedly have no plans to fire head coach Nick Nurse or president of basketball operations Daryl Morey amid a 2-11 start to the season.
NBA Rumors: Philadelphia 76ers have not discussed firing coach Nick Nurse or president of basketball operations Daryl Morey
David Aldridge, Jared Weiss, and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported Tuesday that there is “no internal discussion at this point regarding the job status” of either Nurse or Morey.
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI) ranked the Sixers third in its preseason rankings. Their preseason over/under win total was 51.5. Simulations using ESPN’s BPI now show Philadelphia winning 38 games.
According to the NBA standings based on an 82-game season, 39 wins are necessary to finish in the top six and avoid the play-in tournament. The 76ers would have to go 37-32 over the rest of the season to reach that mark.
The 76ers are off to a worse start than anyone in the organization could have imagined.
But there are no internal discussion at this point regarding the job status of Nick Nurse or Daryl Morey, league sources told The Athletic.
What's next for Philly? ⤵️https://t.co/e9CcIF66kB pic.twitter.com/U9RZLMaxsy
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) November 19, 2024
ESPN’s Shams Charania also added that the Sixers held a team meeting following Monday night’s 106-89 loss to the Miami Heat. Kyle Lowry called for the conference after Philadelphia suffered its fourth straight loss.
During the meeting, players and coaches held each other accountable and accepted fault for inconsistency. Maxey also challenged Embiid to be on time to team activities, stating the seven-time All-Star is late “for everything.”
“Tyrese loves Big Fella, but this is the elephant in the room,” a person involved in the meeting told ESPN. Nearly a quarter into the season, the star trio of Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey have yet to play a game together.
Maxey has a strained right hamstring, Embiid’s left knee is being managed, and George has a bone bruise in his left knee
Maxey has been out since Nov. 7 with a strained right hamstring, but sources said he’s expected to return this week, either Wednesday in Memphis or Friday at home against the Brooklyn Nets.
Embiid missed the first six games because of left knee injury management. He was then suspended three games for shoving Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes after a 124-107 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Nov. 2.
As for George, the 15-year veteran is still recovering from a bone bruise in his left knee. The former Clipper has played in six of the Sixers’ first 13 games. George joined the 76ers in the offseason on a four-year, $212 million deal.
Per sources, Maxey and Embiid have a close friendship and a history of holding each other accountable. However, the NBA is a business like everything else. The James Harden experiment failed, and everyone’s patience is running thin.
The 76ers are off to their worst start to begin a season since going 2-10 through 12 games in 2016-17. Philadelphia finished 28-54 (.341) and 14th in the Eastern Conference standings that season.
