The Sixers on Tuesday made the decision to part ways with president of basketball operations Daryl Morey after six seasons.
Morey’s tenure had plenty of highs and lows, but he ultimately failed to reach the Eastern Conference Finals, something the franchise hasn’t done in over 25 years now.
Bob Myers, who serves as president of sports for HBSE, will be charged with filling the role. Here are five candidates who could make sense.
Note: It’s possible Myers hires himself or re-elevates Elton Brand, but those possibilities don’t seem as likely as hiring a new voice.
We’ll start with some of the hotter names on the market at large. Lindsey is the most experienced of the bunch. He started as a scout with the Utah Jazz way back in 1996, working his way all the way up to VP of basketball operations by 2002. He moved on to the San Antonio Spurs, eventually serving as the team’s vice president before making his way back to Utah as general manager. He oversaw a very successful Jazz run led by Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, eventually being promoted to executive president of basketball operations.
Lindsey did find himself embroiled in controversy after former Jazz player Elijah Millsap accused Lindsey of making racist remarks back in 2015. Lindsey has vehemently denied the allegations, and though the league took no action after an investigation couldn’t confirm Millsap’s story, Lindsey did step down in 2021, moving into an advisory role.
He briefly served as an advisor for the Dallas Mavericks (notably before the team traded Luka Doncic) before stepping into his current role with the Detroit Pistons as Senior VP of basketball operations since 2024. He has a track record of success, but he’s 57 — four years older than Morey. A lot will depend on what the franchise is valuing in its next leader.
Telep took an unconventional path to becoming an important part of the Spurs’ front office. Telep worked for ESPN as a recruiting analyst, also serving as a sideline reporter and studio analyst for ESPNU. In 2013, he was hired by San Antonio as the team’s scouting coordinator. He’s been with the Spurs ever since, serving as director of scouting then director of player personnel then VP of basketball operations.
Ahead of the 2025-26 season, he was promoted to assistant general manager. The Spurs are one of the best-run organizations in all of sports. Their ability to draft and develop players is nearly unmatched. Telep could conceivably continue the Sixers’ recent success in the draft thanks to his scouting background while potentially bringing in fresh ideas.
Lloyd seemed like an obvious pick for the Chicago Bulls’ recent vacancy, but the organization decided to pluck Bryson Graham from the New Orleans Pelicans for the role. Like Telep, Lloyd’s path was atypical, beginning his career in Chicago as media coordinator back in 1999. He rose to the role of director of college scouting before moving on to the Orlando Magic as assistant general manager in 2012, serving in the role for a decade.
He was then hired by the Minnesota Timberwolves to work under renowned executive Tim Connelly. He was hired as senior VP of basketball operations and then promoted to general manager in 2024. All of Lindsey, Telep and Lloyd have been candidates for high-profile jobs. Lloyd’s unique background could make him stand out for this role.
Yet another candidate with an interesting background, U’Ren started his NBA journey as a video coordinator with the Phoenix Suns back in 2009. He then moved on to the Golden State Warriors as manager of advanced scouting and special assistant to the head coach in 2014. The team’s general manager at the time — Bob Myers. U’Ren is famously credited for the Warriors’ Death Lineup, which helped the team to a title. He was promoted to director of basketball operations in 2018, working under Myers.
In 2023, he was hired as general manager of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. He helped turn an aging team that finished 9-31 in 2003 to a WNBA Finals appearance last season. The Myers’ connection is there, but U’Ren is a pretty intriguing candidate in general. Is he ready and willing to make the leap to an NBA gig such as this? We’ll see.
If you like a lot of the work the Sixers have done in the draft in recent years, you can trace a good bit of it back to Rozman. He was hired by Sam Hinkie way back in 2013 as scouting coordinator and climbed all the way up to VP of scouting. He left the organization in 2022, joining the Oklahoma City Thunder as VP of identification and intelligence (whatever the hell that means).
Again, Rozman offers an option with a background in scouting, which should allow the team to keep functioning well around the draft. He also has plenty of familiarity with the organization and surely has many fans still in the building. Rozman would feel like a breath of fresh air as a younger executive while still being a candidate who offers comfortability to ownership.
