Marcus Morris Sr.: 'I Don't Trust' 76ers' Daryl Morey After Viral AI Comments

It's safe to say Marcus Morris Sr. isn't the biggest fan of Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey.

Morey made waves during an interview with Pablo Torre when he suggested his front office uses artificial intelligence to help in the decision-making process. That didn't sit too well with Morris given his comments during a conversation with NBA insider Kevin O'Connor

"I don't trust Daryl Morey," Morris said. "I just don't trust him. I think he's thinking too far ahead of the way basketball needs to be played. He's trying to do a whole new team. He's trying to bring guys in. He's flipping them in and out in and out in and out. Does he even understand the dynamic of being in Philadelphia and what guys you need to play in Philadelphia? Understand how the team needs to jell first before you start talking about AI. 

"What does AI do? I understand the effects it can have in other spots, maybe the offense and the numbers and things like that. But telling you what guys you should choose and what you're trying to do? What has he won? He hasn't won in so long."

It should be noted Morey made it clear AI isn't the sole driving force in any decision-making process for the 76ers. 

Rather, he explained: "We absolutely use models as a vote in any decision. How much of that decision depends on how much the assumptions behind those models don't change and their past success rates."

He also said, "We'll treat them almost like one scout."

Morris' relationship with James Harden might also be impacting his opinion, as he continued and said, "You tell my guy JH (James Harden) that you're gonna do something for him. A guy that you brought from all these teams, and then you don't know—like the AI tell him not to pay James Harden this amount of money?"

Harden's relationship with Morey and the 76ers went sour last season before the team traded him to the Los Angeles Clippers. Morris was part of that trade and came to Philadelphia from L.A. before the 76ers traded him to the Indiana Pacers.

Morris finished the 2023-24 campaign on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Harden famously said Morey was a "liar" before the 76ers ultimately traded him. He surely didn't always feel that way about the 76ers president, though, seeing how they were also together on the Houston Rockets before their time in Philadelphia.

Morey was in the front office in Houston for 13 seasons before being with the 76ers during the last five campaigns. While his teams have yet to win a championship, as Morris pointed out, they have been consistent playoff contenders.

Yet this season has been a disappointment in Philadelphia as the club deals with injuries and poor performance. It is 23-45 and six games out of the final spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.

There surely won't be a run to the NBA Finals this season, which means the only AI that has ever helped the 76ers reach basketball's biggest stage remains Allen Iverson.