WEBVTT - The BroadCast | A One-On-One With Daryl Morey 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:03.640 This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers Podcast network 0:00:04.000 --> 0:00:08.840 search seventy Sixers podcast wherever you get your pods. The 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:12.119 emotion couldn't be masked. I'm so excited to be here. 0:00:12.160 --> 0:00:16.200 I can't believe how quickly this came together. You can't 0:00:16.200 --> 0:00:18.200 ask for anything more. It's it's been a dream come 0:00:18.239 --> 0:00:21.520 true to be here today. From the moment Darryl Moorey 0:00:21.560 --> 0:00:25.160 opened his mouth during Monday's introductory press conference, you could 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:28.960 tell the vibes were real and sincere. The former NBA 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:31.680 Executive of the Year sounded thrilled to be the seventy 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:35.839 six ers new president of basketball operations. I've heard Philadelphia 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:38.400 fans of the Vest and that's what I've seen on 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:40.400 the road when i've been here. I'm excited to win 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:42.760 you guys over, and I know you guys are gonna 0:00:42.760 --> 0:00:45.440 be tough on me, and he should. With more in place, 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:48.920 Elton Brand locked in as general manager and Doc Rivers 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:51.960 now the head coach, the Sixers are feeling good with 0:00:52.080 --> 0:00:55.400 a healthy Joel and Ben Simmons and a group that 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:59.400 Doc is coaching. We feel like people are underrating the 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:01.320 Sixers right now, but we need to go out there 0:01:01.360 --> 0:01:04.080 and prove it. I'm Brian Seltzer, and on this episode 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:06.800 of the broadcast, we go one on one with Daryl 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:10.360 Morning as a new era of seventy Sixers basketball officially 0:01:10.480 --> 0:01:20.360 gets underway. What's up, seventy Sixers pod peeps. I hope 0:01:20.360 --> 0:01:24.759 you're doing well. What a day it was Monday at 0:01:24.800 --> 0:01:29.120 the seventy Sixers training complex in Camden, New Jersey. Listen. 0:01:29.600 --> 0:01:33.000 I am a really lucky dude on a lot of levels, 0:01:33.400 --> 0:01:37.520 but especially on the professional front. The last four weeks 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:40.759 just to be fortunate to be back on site at 0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:44.440 the training complex for Doc Rivers press conference and then 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:47.120 just a few days ago back there again for the 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:52.400 introduction of Daryl Morey. A lot of rightful excitement inside 0:01:52.400 --> 0:01:56.440 the building for the Sixers with two major editions this offseason. 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:00.880 If you follow the sport, you know Daryl Morey needs 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:04.280 no introduction, the least of which from the likes of me. 0:02:05.040 --> 0:02:08.600 And if you're not familiar with Darryl's exceptional body of 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:11.360 work and resume, hopefully you will be by the end 0:02:11.400 --> 0:02:14.760 of this podcast. You know, during Darryl Moore's time with 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:17.600 the Houston Rockets, where he was the last thirteen years 0:02:17.919 --> 0:02:21.000 period during which Houston had the second most wins in 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:24.920 the NBA by my count, actually not my count Basketball 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:27.520 Reference dot Com. I think I got this number right. 0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:32.280 Morey made two hundred forty six moves. Five of those 0:02:32.280 --> 0:02:36.239 transactions were with his new team, the Sixers, and that 0:02:36.840 --> 0:02:40.320 is where our conversation begins. I'm debating whether we should 0:02:40.360 --> 0:02:41.760 start with this, but I feel like it might be 0:02:41.760 --> 0:02:44.959 a good icebreaker. Now I'm nervous. Oh yeah, go ahead. 0:02:45.280 --> 0:02:48.400 Better deal between the Houston Rockets and the seventy Sixers. 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:52.240 The Sergey Less Shook trade or the furkon Aldemir Royce 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:57.639 White second round pick trade. Well, the serge Lists Shook trade. 0:02:57.680 --> 0:03:00.679 There's actually five of those, think just one the Sixers. 0:03:00.960 --> 0:03:03.640 I believe he's the most traded player in NBA history. 0:03:04.240 --> 0:03:07.920 I never played here. Um, you might have to give me. 0:03:08.000 --> 0:03:12.280 I remember the furkon Aldemere trade. I do not remember 0:03:12.360 --> 0:03:15.320 the whole Serageiless Shook trade. Do you have that, handy? 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:17.960 I think it was a multi team trade. Oh, yes, 0:03:18.720 --> 0:03:21.600 went a couple of different places and had multiple permutations. 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:24.480 He never put on a uniform here. I would say, 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:27.480 you know, since we both had seventy trades, probably a 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:31.399 lot of them were mostly forgettable. It's funny though, thinking 0:03:31.400 --> 0:03:33.720 about you being here. It certainly feels, at least to 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:35.080 someone who's been around the team for a bit, a 0:03:35.120 --> 0:03:39.760 little bit surreal. But then there's this under of yes, yeah, right, 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:41.760 exactly think about me. I know, why do I make 0:03:41.800 --> 0:03:44.240 it always about myself? I have a habit of doing it. 0:03:45.080 --> 0:03:47.640 But it's like it feels like there's this familiarity that's 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:49.600 pre existing with you coming in here. Do you feel 0:03:49.600 --> 0:03:51.720 the same way about it? Kind of? I mean I do. 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:54.520 I mean in the sense that, first off, I'm sort 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:59.640 of a Midwest Northeast guy, so that that feels natural. Second, 0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:03.160 I am happy for Elton and Sam and those who 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:07.120 set things up to have to have Joel and Ben 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:10.440 is like, you know what, why you go through all 0:04:10.480 --> 0:04:15.280 the tough seasons, and so I'm at some level I 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:17.520 feel bad, you know, I feel like I'm the you know, 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:20.640 you know, others have driven the car a whole way 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:22.800 and then I just need to like bring it in 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:25.160 right at the end. But and hopefully we do that. 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:28.240 But um no, it's it's a great roster to work 0:04:28.279 --> 0:04:33.840 with and I love the fans, you know, So I'm excited. Yeah, 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:36.120 you really didn't. Not just saying this because we're sitting 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:39.480 here talking now. You sounded genuinely over the moon, really 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:43.640 enthusiastic in your introductory press conference. What is pumping you 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:46.400 up the most about this opportunity? I mean, look, I 0:04:46.520 --> 0:04:49.080 just I just want to win the title somehow. I mean, 0:04:49.720 --> 0:04:53.279 and you know, an opportunity comes along like this where 0:04:53.279 --> 0:04:56.000 you got a great chance and to work with committed 0:04:56.040 --> 0:05:00.800 ownership like Josh and another chance to work with we 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:03.560 know as a championship coach and Elton is going to 0:05:03.600 --> 0:05:05.880 be one of the all time great execs in this league. 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:09.520 And you know so, I you know it was it 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:12.440 was an end. Then then a roster that's ready to win. 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:14.720 I mean, you can't ask for much more given the 0:05:14.760 --> 0:05:18.600 connections that you had personally and professionally with the Sixers 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:20.400 going back a handful of years. How much from Afar 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:22.600 when you were in Houston, were you paying attention to 0:05:22.640 --> 0:05:26.000 what was happening here? Yeah, it's my job defendions. I 0:05:26.040 --> 0:05:27.560 do pay attention more to the West. When I was 0:05:27.600 --> 0:05:30.760 in the West, Um, you know I actually would tract 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:34.360 the East pretty close. Yeah, just because of who was here. 0:05:34.400 --> 0:05:37.160 And then obviously working in Boston for many years. So 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:40.360 but it was mostly like, oh, I hope I faced 0:05:40.400 --> 0:05:43.720 one of those teams in the finals. So yeah, No, 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:46.760 I definitely had an affinity. You know, I've always known 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:51.119 a lot of the people here. So yeah, going back 0:05:51.200 --> 0:05:54.280 three weeks ago, could you have possibly vision this happening? 0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:56.080 Like what do you think you'd be doing three weeks after? 0:05:56.600 --> 0:05:59.280 You just know? I mean I actually was sort of 0:05:59.279 --> 0:06:03.400 excited to do it because you know, some good friends 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:06.000 like Sam just went through like hey, what am I 0:06:06.040 --> 0:06:09.479 gonna do next period? And I was actually sort of 0:06:09.480 --> 0:06:12.000 looking forward to that. I did not think an opportunity 0:06:12.040 --> 0:06:15.240 would come along quickly that. You know, my good friend 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:19.560 Jeff van Gundy, he left coaching and now we're fifteen 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:22.640 years later and he hasn't done something yet, like just 0:06:22.720 --> 0:06:25.480 it hasn't aligned for him. And so to have something 0:06:25.480 --> 0:06:29.400 aligned quickly was like I was like, you know, so 0:06:29.400 --> 0:06:31.680 so happy, you know, because sometimes when you take a 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:35.279 step away, you're like, will anyone you know, will anyone 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:38.480 have interest? You don't know, right, you just don't know. 0:06:38.680 --> 0:06:42.880 So I was looking forward to that time. My family's 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:48.040 angry with me. They they think they're like I thought 0:06:48.040 --> 0:06:49.760 you're supposed to spend time with us. I'm like, yeah, 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:53.600 that's a good opportunity came along, forgive me please. Luckily 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:55.760 they're old enough they can sort of understand that something 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:57.880 great came along. So there's got to be an itch 0:06:58.160 --> 0:07:01.200 burning within you. I gotta believe just based on that, well, 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:06.200 I mean, burning would be understood. I mean, frankly, I've 0:07:06.240 --> 0:07:10.760 had the opportunity to, you know, get certain accolades, make 0:07:10.800 --> 0:07:13.920 it to the conference finals, get awards, all this other 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:18.840 stuff that doesn't matter. And so, like I talked about 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:22.480 the press conference, I'm looking only on championship probability. I mean, 0:07:22.520 --> 0:07:27.040 that's that's that's that's for me too. Like I really, 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:31.400 you know, I just feel like I haven't accomplished much 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:34.720 unless I can somehow get that done. It's funny because 0:07:34.760 --> 0:07:36.960 just in speaking with Elton over the last couple of years, 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:39.800 that's something that clearly is motivating him. Never won the 0:07:39.800 --> 0:07:41.360 title as a player, wants to get one as an 0:07:41.360 --> 0:07:44.040 exact and then Doc comes at it from a completely 0:07:44.040 --> 0:07:46.760 different perspective. He won it, but it was over a 0:07:46.800 --> 0:07:48.720 decade ago, and it's like, once you taste it for 0:07:48.760 --> 0:07:50.880 the first time, how can I get so jealous of 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:55.160 his one though. Yea, hopefully we're hopefully we're comparing rings 0:07:55.160 --> 0:07:59.480 at some point. But now he's awesome, and he his 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:02.360 ability to pull a team together quickly, which he did 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:06.640 in Boston was really really impressive, And you know, I 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:10.120 just love that he He has an approach and a 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:13.640 style that help that helps teams win at a high level. 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:15.480 I think he's going to go down as one of 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:19.280 the all time great winning coaches ever, obviously with the championship. 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:21.200 So you know, it's why I was trying to get 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:24.520 him to Houston before, Like I just you know, it 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:26.600 was fantastic that I got a chance to work with 0:08:26.680 --> 0:08:29.800 him here again. So if we're thinking of this next 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:32.960 question in the vein of you narrating a sequence of 0:08:33.000 --> 0:08:34.800 events for the people out there, can you walk me 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:36.520 for as much as you can through the timeline of 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:39.280 leaving Houston and now here we are sitting talking about 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:41.400 you being the president of basketball operations for the Sixers. 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:44.880 I mean, honestly, I'd have to such a whirlwind. So 0:08:47.360 --> 0:08:52.440 you know, I definitely was interested in stepping away. I 0:08:52.480 --> 0:08:55.600 thought it was the right time for everything. I was 0:08:55.640 --> 0:08:59.280 able to work that out with Houston and then when 0:08:59.280 --> 0:09:02.600 it got it now, it was like boom. I mean 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:04.800 it was it was It was nice because you don't 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:08.440 know how people are going to react. I had never 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:12.480 gone through it. I imagine It's how you know, um, 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:16.240 players often feel when when teams are calling them, you 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:19.040 don't always know they're gonna call, right, And I had 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:23.320 no idea. Um, but you know there are teams from football, 0:09:23.480 --> 0:09:27.559 from baseball, you know, from investment opportunities, a couple of 0:09:27.679 --> 0:09:32.239 NBA teams, and but the Sixers opportunity, they were super aggressive. 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:36.080 Doc and Elton were like wanting me to come right away. 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:42.080 Um and um, you know, and then Josh obviously super committed. 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:45.720 I mean it was obviously hard to say, know with 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:48.439 with the roster, getting to work with Doc, getting to 0:09:48.480 --> 0:09:51.600 work with committed ownership was amazing. What do you think 0:09:51.600 --> 0:09:53.800 it says about Elton that it sounds like he was 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:56.000 one of the driving people leaving the charge on it. Well, 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:57.440 that's the thing I was going to say in the press, 0:09:57.440 --> 0:09:59.480 cout I didn't get a chance. But like, how rare 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:02.160 is that that you know he's told you he only 0:10:02.200 --> 0:10:04.720 cares about winning a title. This proves it right, because 0:10:05.280 --> 0:10:08.480 you know he's just like we're gonna do whatever it takes, 0:10:08.520 --> 0:10:11.079 and I just I love that about him, and I 0:10:11.480 --> 0:10:13.360 to me like he's already on his way to be 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:16.960 He has such a great feel that you don't really 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:20.480 get as quickly in the job as he already has. Honestly, 0:10:20.520 --> 0:10:23.160 but in my third year or whatever he's in and 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:26.240 the job, I was sort of stumbling around like an idiot. 0:10:26.280 --> 0:10:29.319 So so I'm so impressed by him and the fact 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:32.560 that he has, you know, wanted me here and welcome 0:10:32.640 --> 0:10:35.480 me has been mean so much. Let's talk about the 0:10:35.559 --> 0:10:38.080 roster a little bit. There's obviously two very un all 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:41.880 stars in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. Ben, where do 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:44.600 you see his game at right now? I see as 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:47.840 one of the best up and coming players, already very good, 0:10:47.880 --> 0:10:50.160 but at twenty four can get even better. Very few 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:53.520 players played at his level at twenty four. He usually 0:10:53.559 --> 0:10:57.880 means even bigger things are coming, you know. I think 0:10:58.080 --> 0:11:00.160 Doc is going to figure out how to utilize him 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:04.400 even more, whether it be in transition. Obviously, his defensibility 0:11:04.480 --> 0:11:06.960 really shown through last year. I mean, if you have 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:08.960 that as a foundation, you're always going to be a 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:12.160 good player, because if you start with defense, you know, 0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:15.240 and then he's super skilled offensively as well. You know, 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:17.880 the sky's the limit. What about Joe, Well, you certainly 0:11:17.920 --> 0:11:20.040 spoke highly of him in the press conference, but it 0:11:20.080 --> 0:11:23.240 really seems like he's got everything there to take this 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:27.000 team where it wants to be. Frankly, like, I see 0:11:27.040 --> 0:11:29.240 no reason he can't be one of the all time 0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:33.800 great bigs. I mean, he's got every component. When he's 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:36.880 on the floor. Defensively, he might be one of the 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:40.560 most impactful defensive bigs of all time. And offensively he 0:11:40.600 --> 0:11:43.080 can do skilled things that like big men aren't supposed 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:44.840 to be able to do. I mean, it's really fun 0:11:44.880 --> 0:11:47.280 to watch. And the fact that he's, you know, here 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:51.440 twice a day, working and focused, is it means a lot. 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:53.320 Have you had a chance to speak with him at 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:56.120 all or just observe him a little bit. Yeah, I've 0:11:56.200 --> 0:11:59.280 spoken to a lot of the roster, the ones that 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:02.160 I haven't gotten too, I'm getting to today. I was 0:12:02.200 --> 0:12:05.040 trying to call them rapidly because you know, obviously we 0:12:05.080 --> 0:12:07.600 don't get anywhere without the players, so I've got to 0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:10.400 hit all them today. For someone in your position coming in, 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:13.199 what's the message that you want to impart upon the players. 0:12:14.120 --> 0:12:17.640 I mean it's you know, we're all working together for 0:12:17.679 --> 0:12:22.319 the same goal. I think you get to the best 0:12:22.320 --> 0:12:25.920 place in the NBA by involving your players, having them 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:31.240 feel like they're part of the decisions, part of the environment. 0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:36.760 They set, the culture, they set, the work ethic. Doc's 0:12:36.760 --> 0:12:38.719 gonna help with his leadership ability is going to help 0:12:38.760 --> 0:12:43.480 them become better leaders. But it really fits my style. Honestly, 0:12:43.520 --> 0:12:46.240 my style would not work in college or high school, 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:49.200 where it's you know, where some great programs are sort 0:12:49.240 --> 0:12:51.960 of like here's how you do it the you know, 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:54.640 the the X way is the way you do things. 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:57.800 You know. For me, I'm trying to help the players 0:12:57.840 --> 0:13:01.000 figure out their best skills, their best leadership. How do 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:04.120 we use it all together, work with Doc and create 0:13:04.280 --> 0:13:07.280 like this greater thing. So that's what I've always tried 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:09.480 to do in Houston, and you know, I had a 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:11.839 lot of success, just not the ultimate. And I was 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:14.319 going to ask you, what have you learned about the 0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:17.560 balance that has to be struck between trying to create 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:20.480 this collective being that needs to thrive, but then also 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:23.000 their individual players were talking about here there could be 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:26.080 a James Harden or there could be an Austin Rivers 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:28.000 or guys in between, deep guys on the bench. So 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:30.040 what have you learned over your career about how to 0:13:30.080 --> 0:13:33.200 manage the individuals that make up the whole. Yeah, it's 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:35.160 a challenge. Obviously. I worked with a head coach a 0:13:35.200 --> 0:13:37.560 lot and take a lot of their guidance. I've I've 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:41.240 been extremely lucky to work with great head coaches Doc 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:44.520 when I was in Boston, jeff E Gundy, Rick Autam, 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:50.280 and Kevin McHale, Mike D'Antoni. I've been lucky, like all 0:13:50.280 --> 0:13:52.760 those coaches have all stayed four years or more with me. 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:58.640 I work heavily with them to figure out how to 0:13:58.800 --> 0:14:02.240 and learn how to touch those players in a way 0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:04.560 where they they get excited and motivated to come to 0:14:04.600 --> 0:14:07.400 work and motivated to win. Um. And I've taken a 0:14:07.400 --> 0:14:10.760 little bit from each each person. And you know one 0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:13.240 thing that Doc seems to have one of the best 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:16.040 feels that is, yeah, how to how to inspire these 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:19.600 guys to like want to come in and you know, 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:24.080 you know, basically crushed the day that day. Um. You know, 0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:27.320 so I lean I lean on the coaches evily, frankly, Um, 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:31.480 I try not to, you know, unless they're seeking me out. 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:35.120 I try not to get too too UM two too. 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:38.360 You know in the coach's business, you and Doc did 0:14:38.400 --> 0:14:41.480 have that brief overlap in Boston. After that. How much 0:14:41.480 --> 0:14:44.160 did you guys stay in touch quite a bit obviously. 0:14:44.360 --> 0:14:47.040 You know, we had a son at Houston who UM 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:52.520 did was awesome for us. UM. You know, it's a small, 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:56.520 tight knit community in the in the NBA. Doc is 0:14:56.560 --> 0:14:59.200 really tight with Chris Paul, who we had. So there's 0:14:59.400 --> 0:15:02.360 lots of over laps, Yeah, lots of overlaps. Do you 0:15:02.360 --> 0:15:05.760 think there's any misunderstood parts about your philosophy? I mean, 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:08.560 obviously I think people throw out that the analytics tag 0:15:08.600 --> 0:15:10.560 words so often, But do you think there's anything that's 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:13.840 misunderstood about the way you do things? Yeah? I would 0:15:13.880 --> 0:15:17.640 say the main thing is, you know, I use data 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:19.920 to make great decisions. The job is really the same, 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:22.120 It's been the same since Red arbucked, and it's like, 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:27.360 you know, make great trades, free agent signings and draft picks. 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:30.040 It's really that decision making and then set the right 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:36.000 tone for the organization. Data helps you like make sure 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:41.600 you're not fooling yourself right, you know, like like Sam 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:43.640 did many years ago. He looked and he said, look, 0:15:44.320 --> 0:15:47.320 we're not close to winning. We need to take this 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:51.840 path right now. We know we have two star level 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:55.240 players in twenty four and twenty six. That is enough. 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:58.800 As long as you can get everything together and the 0:15:58.880 --> 0:16:01.400 right mix and the right focus, you can win with that. 0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:04.480 So data allows you ask the right questions. But people 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:07.680 think like that we use data to like make the decisions. No, 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:11.160 we use data to ask the questions like you know, 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:17.960 we you know, we think you know, um, Joel's post 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:20.240 ups are great. Well, let's check the data. Okay, they are, 0:16:20.360 --> 0:16:23.840 they are great. Let's let's go to that. How do 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:26.640 we how do we look at how to make that better? 0:16:26.760 --> 0:16:29.200 Things like that. So, and does ultimately come down to 0:16:29.280 --> 0:16:30.760 just trying to get the best out of the best 0:16:30.760 --> 0:16:33.120 talent and all the talent that you have. Yeah, I 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:35.560 mean it really just comes down. Yeah, you take your players, 0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:37.960 figure out what they do best, push them to get 0:16:38.000 --> 0:16:39.760 better at the things that they can get better at. 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:46.040 And uh, and it's not a dogmatic thing. There's not 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:50.240 a lot of prescription or proscribing. It's, you know, take 0:16:50.280 --> 0:16:51.960 what they're best at and put it on the floor 0:16:52.000 --> 0:16:53.840 and That's why I love Doc too. He's got a 0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:57.640 history of molding what he does around the players. I 0:16:57.720 --> 0:17:00.760 know going back that this was an industry and profession 0:17:00.800 --> 0:17:04.320 that you sounded like desperately wanted to get into. From 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:08.680 writing teams letters and just trying to break down, yeah, 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:10.040 try to do a little bit. I feel like I 0:17:10.040 --> 0:17:11.800 had to get a haircut and do some research. Those 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:16.040 are the two things to risk risk at all, get 0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:19.360 a beard trim. So I think everyone, you know, everyone's 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:24.439 got a little bit of quarantine follical situations going on 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:28.280 the interne um. Did you always think that this was 0:17:28.320 --> 0:17:30.080 something that you could do, Like it sounded like you 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:31.600 really wanted to get into it, but you do always 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:34.240 believe that this was something you could do. Yeah, folks, 0:17:34.359 --> 0:17:37.440 Ically I had the analog Facebook is what existed when 0:17:37.440 --> 0:17:40.000 I went to Northwestern in ninety one and someone dug 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:42.360 it up, and yeah, my Facebook thing was about how 0:17:42.400 --> 0:17:45.800 I wanted to how I wanted to be a GM someday. 0:17:45.920 --> 0:17:50.080 So I always hoped I could. As you mentioned, from 0:17:50.200 --> 0:17:52.520 ninety six when I was at Stats Sink until two 0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:54.400 thousand and two when I got a job with Boston, 0:17:56.280 --> 0:17:59.040 I couldn't get anyone do give me a chance. So 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:01.359 did a whole bunch of other jobs during that period. 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:03.960 So was there a moment you can pinpoint or a 0:18:03.960 --> 0:18:05.920 deal that you were involved in, a decision you made 0:18:05.920 --> 0:18:08.920 that gave you the confidence that this was the path 0:18:08.920 --> 0:18:11.159 in the field for you to be in. Yeah, I 0:18:11.160 --> 0:18:14.760 mean I think I think Sam mentioned it. I think 0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:18.520 the toughest and biggest trade we made was trading Ray 0:18:18.520 --> 0:18:21.119 for Austin out for Kyle in the middle of a 0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:27.440 playoff run. That took a lot of conversations leadership, ownership, 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:31.040 buy in, coach, buy in, player, buy in to say 0:18:31.080 --> 0:18:34.360 we're gonna take our starting point guard and move him 0:18:34.359 --> 0:18:38.000 along in the midst of winning fifty plus games. That 0:18:38.000 --> 0:18:40.040 that deal and then having it work out, I think 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:42.600 gave me a lot of confidence. We're gonna land the 0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:46.480 interview plane shortly. Try to do some off the court stuff. 0:18:46.560 --> 0:18:49.240 I'm ready. What do you know about the city of Philadelphia? 0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:53.120 Oh boy, I've watched the show Always Sunny Philadelphia, which 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:56.199 I think probably doesn't help me too much. I'm guessing 0:18:56.440 --> 0:18:59.080 that's like Louis Scala learned English from friends, So I'm 0:18:59.080 --> 0:19:02.760 guessing I've I've got this warped view now I have 0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:05.399 the view for my wife, who's from New Jersey, that 0:19:05.520 --> 0:19:08.160 isn't always the most positive. There's a lot of rivalry 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:11.040 there sometimes. Although she was in the part of Jersey 0:19:11.200 --> 0:19:14.639 Freehold the boss is hometown, which is you know, I 0:19:14.640 --> 0:19:19.359 guess part Philly, Partney Arc. So what do I know? 0:19:19.480 --> 0:19:22.480 I mean obviously, I mean I studied the Founding Fathers, 0:19:22.480 --> 0:19:25.560 not in school, but like just and not from Hamilton either. 0:19:25.800 --> 0:19:29.480 Like so Ben Franklin's my guy actually, so a lot 0:19:29.480 --> 0:19:32.639 of like actually, my leadership style comes from reading a 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:35.760 lot of his stuff. So he was you'll see I 0:19:35.840 --> 0:19:38.359 hang back a lot. You know, I'm trying to get, 0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:42.520 you know, the information out of everyone else before I go, 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:45.160 because if I go first, then you know, can set 0:19:45.200 --> 0:19:47.479 the tone and people can sort of line up. If 0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:49.720 you're trying to get the best info, you want to 0:19:49.760 --> 0:19:52.600 make people comfortable to give you feedback, tell you when 0:19:52.640 --> 0:19:55.399 you're being an idiot, and give you that feedback before 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:58.239 you start to blabber on, which I can do, by 0:19:58.280 --> 0:20:02.719 the way. So but yeah, so not much. I'd say, 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:04.840 I'm gonna just admit I don't know a ton about 0:20:04.880 --> 0:20:08.359 Philadelphia except you have great fans. I would agree with 0:20:08.359 --> 0:20:10.840 you on that. Yeah. I think it's around eight hundred pages. 0:20:10.840 --> 0:20:13.560 The biography on Ben Franklin. I admittedly have not read 0:20:13.600 --> 0:20:15.200 all of it. I tried to get through some of it. 0:20:15.800 --> 0:20:17.840 I'm not as a committed reader as I should be. 0:20:17.880 --> 0:20:20.280 But he seemed to me like he was kind of 0:20:20.280 --> 0:20:23.760 a glue guy. He just he made things actually knowing 0:20:23.800 --> 0:20:25.880 what he did, because he would fall asleep in the 0:20:26.000 --> 0:20:28.520 meetings and stuff like that. I'm not gonna fall asleep 0:20:28.560 --> 0:20:32.280 in the meetings, Josh, trust me. Door Um. But yeah, 0:20:32.280 --> 0:20:34.280 I know he was the one off to France to 0:20:34.359 --> 0:20:38.000 get him involved, and yeah, I know he's it's anyway. 0:20:38.200 --> 0:20:40.520 So is he from Philadelphia? Is that true or no? No, 0:20:40.760 --> 0:20:43.040 I thank you. I think I don't know see an 0:20:43.080 --> 0:20:47.280 adopted area where it came to be exactly? Yeah? Um food, 0:20:47.760 --> 0:20:50.240 I think that's just a prerequistion. Like Houston, we have 0:20:50.280 --> 0:20:52.640 a problem. The equivalent is talking about cheese takes here? 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:55.080 Is that true? That? Like, it's just as annoying. I'd 0:20:55.119 --> 0:20:57.240 say to identify as an outsider if you come in 0:20:57.240 --> 0:20:58.639 and write off the bat and being like where do 0:20:58.720 --> 0:21:01.960 I go to get? Yeah, where's cheese takes? Yeah, cheese whiz? 0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:04.639 Or not. Yeah, So are you a fan of food 0:21:04.640 --> 0:21:07.719 scenes in general of the cities that you travel to? Well? Food, 0:21:07.760 --> 0:21:10.800 as people can see, it doesn't always miss me sadly, 0:21:10.960 --> 0:21:16.680 so uh so, yeah, I do like food, ideal tight meal, 0:21:16.880 --> 0:21:20.040 if we dive deeper into this topic, ideal meal or 0:21:20.119 --> 0:21:24.960 cuisine I do love. I do love sushi. Which how 0:21:25.080 --> 0:21:27.920 is the sushi scene? I'm not sure if it is 0:21:27.960 --> 0:21:29.719 Philly known for that. I'm not sure if there are 0:21:29.760 --> 0:21:31.359