The six most important quotes from Bob Myers and Josh Harris as they start the search for a new front-office leader

Bob Myers spent Wednesday in Chicago at the NBA draft combine with the remaining members of the 76ers’ front office and coach Nick Nurse.

By late Thursday afternoon, Myers was in front of Philly media to face questions for the first time as the team’s interim president of basketball operations. It had been less than 48 hours since Myers had taken over for Daryl Morey, who was fired Tuesday night after six years leading the front office. Now Myers — the president of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and former president of basketball operations during the Golden State Warriors dynasty — will conduct the search for the Sixers’ next day-to-day lead executive.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Myers said. “And we know that.”

Sixers owner Josh Harris called Myers “universally respected across the sports industry,” thanks to his four NBA championships and two Executive of the Year awards. And though Myers did not shy away from that the Sixers’ goal is to win a championship, he also emphasized “how hard it actually is, and how hard it will be.”

» READ MORE: Sixers owner Josh Harris said it was tough to part ways with Daryl Morey

“There is no [waving] a wand,” Myers said, “[or] me [sitting] up here at a press conference and [talking] for 10 seconds, and that’s the answer to fixing everything. It is not. This requires a ton of work. So whoever we bring into this process — including myself, including our staff, our players — has to be committed to that in a very big way.

“That means sacrificing time and energy and putting everything you have into this, and we’re going to demand that. I’m going to demand that of whoever we hire. I’m going to do that myself, because I just don’t know how to not do it.”

What qualities will Myers be seeking in that new executive, and what is the timeline to make a hire? How does he expect that person to navigate a roster with two exciting young guards, and two oft-injured former perennial All-Stars still on max contracts? Does he believe the three-star model can still work under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement?

Here are the six most important quotes from Myers and Harris’ news conference, and why they mattered:

Asked which skills or traits he will prioritize in this new hire, Myers first said he is a “big believer in character and leadership.” He then listed off a bevy of responsibilities this position requires, from front-facing spokesperson, to managing star players, to contract negotiations and evaluating analytics.

Myers said he plans to hire somebody who “can check as many of those boxes as possible,” yet also has the humility to self-identify areas that are not their strengths. Then, the task will be to put the right people underneath that leader to support in those aspects.

Myers added that, while he hopes to have this hire in place by the late-June draft and start of free agency, he will take “as much time as required to get the best person.”

“The goal will be to have someone that’s the right person for a long amount of time after that,” he said.

Could that pool of candidates include Elton Brand, the Sixers’ general manager who held the top front-office title before Morey? Brand was part of the group Myers visited in Chicago, but they have not discussed his interest in pursuing such a position again.

“[We will] figure out what we think is best,” Myers said. “But we haven’t gotten to that level of detail with any of that yet.”

Given Myers’ experience and role with HBSE, it is reasonable to wonder how much control he will have not just over this process, but moving forward inside the organization.

He said he aims to hire a “day-to-day leader that will have a lot of authority here, which they should.” But Myers acknowledged he will be part of the high-level decision-making around major roster-building tentpoles, such as the draft, free agency, and the trade deadline.

» READ MORE: Who is Bob Myers? Five things to know about HBSE’s president leading the search for Daryl Morey’s replacement

Then, Myers went a step further to say he plans to communicate with this executive “daily, seven days a week.”

“Because I want to,” Myers said. “I want to hire somebody that I can work with. I want to hire somebody that Josh can work with. And, most importantly, I want to win.

“I think that I have had some experience in this space, and if I have something to say, it’s harder for me not to say it than to say it.”

Whoever is hired immediately enters a challenging roster situation. The Sixers boast two explosive young guards in Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. But their two highest-paid players are Joel Embiid and Paul George, who both have multiple years remaining on max contracts yet are aging and frequently injured.

How should that new front-office leader chart the franchise’s path forward?

“If I had the answer to that question, I’d actually just do it,” Myers said “ … I look forward to partnering with leadership to get that answer.”

As a broader philosophy, does Myers believe the three-star model is still a worthwhile roster-building approach?

Top-level talent is what Morey always coveted in Philly and with the Houston Rockets. Myers once boasted the eye-popping roster headlined by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Kevin Durant, made possible by the 2016 salary cap spike.

But the NBA’s landscape has changed with the new CBA that includes “apron” penalties and trade restrictions put on high-spending teams. That means, Myers acknowledged, “depth may be more important than it’s ever been.”

The Sixers clearly did not have enough trustworthy reserves during the playoffs, prompting Nurse to play starters such as Maxey 40-plus minutes while the bench production was borderline nonexistent in several games.

“We have to look at what happened this year and be honest about it,” Myers said. “We’ve got to be honest about can this model work? …

“You only have a certain amount of resources to spend, so that’s all part of the questions. It’s all part of what we need to figure out going forward.”

Though Myers did not make the unpopular Jared McCain trade, it was still a prominent topic Thursday.

When asked to evaluate that move — and Morey’s controversial “sold high” comments after it — Myers said, “I’m not going to disparage Daryl here today. I think he did a fine job, and I think he’s a good person.”

Because what’s done is done. The new-look front office’s job, Myers said, is to nail the 22nd overall pick in the draft that was acquired in the deal. The Sixers also received three future second-round picks, which could be used to select players or as assets in future trades.

» READ MORE: Overpayments, questionable trades and one ugly feud: Daryl Morey’s biggest missteps with the Sixers

Harris also confirmed when asked that he signed off on the McCain trade after the front office’s recommendation. Harris added that the deal “was part of a bigger plan,” when Morey explored subsequent deals to bolster the current roster but nothing materialized by the deadline.

“That trade isn’t done,” Myers said. “And our job is to make sure that, on our end of the trade, we do a good job of drafting the best player at 22.”

It is worth noting that Myers’ draft history is a little more checkered.

Selecting Green in the 2012 second round was brilliant. But the Warriors also took James Wiseman second overall in 2020 in a situation similar to the Sixers last season, when star injuries led to a “gap year” and a prime draft pick. Golden State’s late-first-round selections, which sit closer to where the Sixers will select this year, include Patrick Baldwin (28th in 2022), Jordan Poole (28th in 2019), Jacob Evans (28th in 2018), Damian Jones (30th in 2016), and Kevon Looney (30th in 2015).

The Tuesday night news paired with Morey’s dismissal was that Nurse would return for a fourth season. That was a bit of a surprise to some outsiders, given coaches often take the fall for teams that fall short of expectations.

Yet Harris commended how Nurse handled an ever-changing roster due to injuries, and a style of play that shifted from up-tempo to slower depending on Embiid’s availability.

“The team played hard for Nick,” Harris said. “ … He’s earned the right to be here.”

That said, it does not sound like Nurse will have significant input on who Myers chooses for this front-office role.

“It’s not to exclude Nick,” Myers said. “But he’s got enough responsibility, and this is [Harris’ and my] focus. Somebody that we hire will be a great partner for Nick, and that’s what we have to promise him.”

Much of the Sixers’ fan ire — or apathy — has been directed specifically at Harris, both for the on-court product and that his name is mentioned in the Epstein files. Harris even watched Game 1 of the Sixers’ first-round series in Boston courtside with U.S. secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick, who also is in the released files. A spokesperson said in January that Harris “never had an independent relationship” with Epstein and “sought to avoid meetings” with him.

» READ MORE: Daryl Morey was the right man for the job, but the job has changed for the Sixers

When asked about that blend of fan frustrations for basketball reasons — and “some of the off-court things that have not been addressed by you,” the reporter said — Harris referred back to a prepared statement he read at the beginning of the news conference. He pivoted the question to his focus on getting the Sixers past the playoffs’ second round, and called Myers making this front-office hire “the next step in our evolution.”

“All I can tell you is that I’m sweating it really hard,” Harris said. “I’m sweating it just as hard — or harder — [than] any of the fans. But that’s what I’m focused on, and I understand people’s frustrations.”