Daryl Morey made his way in the NBA by being a pioneer of analytics, dating back to his time working under Bill James at STATS, inc., where he developed several predictive algorithms that later helped guide his time as an executive.
Morey stuck with the plan in Houston, where they launched a ton of 3-point shots and ran up scores, helping to change the way the league looked at the 3-point shot in the process. He’s stayed on the cutting edge of analytics his entire career, right up to the point when he abandoned them completely.
Morey signed the disastrous contracts for Joel Embiid and Paul George, two older players with extensive injury histories that the analytics said were not a fit. Morey forgot who he was and got doe-eyed over stars, and the 76ers are paying the price, as they are locked into arguably the two worst contracts in the NBA and a team that sucks unless those two guys play at a high level, which looks increasingly unlikely.
The 76ers will be paying Embiid over $67 million in the 2028-29 season when he’ll be 34 years old and possibly out of the league. As good as Embiid is when healthy, the 76ers couldn’t give him away. Same with Paul George, who is owed between $51-56 million over the next three seasons when he’ll be 37 years old.
Morey abandoned his principles, and it cost him, which should serve as a powerful lesson to Trajan Langdon and the Detroit Pistons.
Trajan Langdon: Avoid the injured, stay flexible
Langdon had to learn some lessons the hard way, as he had to watch his top three players sit on the bench injured most of the time he was the GM of the New Orleans Pelicans.
Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball’s constant injuries submarined any chance the Pelicans, who once had the most promising roster and assets in the league, had to be good.
Because of that, Langdon has so far made it a point as team president of the Pistons to avoid players with long injury histories. That’s why I am dubious he’ll pursue Lauri Markkanen, a guy who has never played 70 games in a season or even appeared in the playoffs.
Langdon has also stuck with short-term deals for role players to remain financially flexible, which is smart under the new CBA that brutally punishes bad contracts.
Langdon has also been patient, resisting the urge to move his young players until he knows what he has, which should hopefully prevent him from making a big mistake, either in the form of a trade or a big contract.
These three principles have guided Langdon so far, and they are ones he needs to stick to. Detroit is not a big free agent destination, so needs to continue to build around the young core, keep a carousel of good role players on short deals and avoid guys who are always hurt.
Morey went away from his playbook and got burned, so let’s hope Langdon stays true to his.