Joel Embiid has seen a lot in his time with the Philadelphia 76ers. He was one of the final pieces of The Process, taking it upon himself to deliver upon the promise of former GM Sam Hinkie’s plan for rebuilding the team through the draft by bottoming out as aggressively as any team ever had for a prolonged period.
Embiid has never been shy about his love for Hinkie, who put his faith in an injured Embiid and believed he could become the superstar he has, and he also isn’t afraid to discuss the disaster that was the Bryan Colangelo era, when the Sixers tried to do the exact opposite of what Hinkie was trying to do. That tenure in Philadelphia ended in one of the most hilarious exits in disgrace an executive has ever had, as Colangelo went out in a blaze of glory that was headlined by burner Twitter accounts criticizing players and defending his moves as if he were a fan.
Now, the Sixers are run by a president of basketball operations whose own Twitter account has caused a minor international incident, but at least is willing to put his real name behind his online presence. Morey has brought in a lot of old friends from Houston, most notably James Harden but also PJ Tucker and Danuel House this summer, and is very clear — much like Hinkie — in his vision for the team. That appeals to Embiid, who spoke with Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer for a profile on Morey and couldn’t help but jab at Colangelo for being the one exception to all the smart GMs he’s played for in Philadelphia.
“Since I’ve been here, all of the GMs were really smart, except one,” says Embiid, poking fun at a certain former normal-collared executive. “There’s been so many crazy stuff. We had a crazy GM tweeting about his players, going crazy on Twitter, which was insane. While I’m here, I must be the most unlucky player in the world.”
It’s a great quote from Embiid — and a factual one at that — who would go on to note that his favorite thing about Morey is that he’s always trying to go all-in to win, “whatever it takes,” even if that hasn’t produced a championship just yet. Embiid and the Sixers will look to change that this year in a loaded Eastern Conference, but if nothing else he no longer has to deal with fake Twitter accounts run by his GM tweeting about how he needs to play harder.