Mannix calls out Daryl Morey for 'shameless Boston media' comment originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey blamed the "shameless" Boston media for Joel Embiid's All-Star snub. Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix responded with receipts.
Morey told "The Anthony Gargano Show" that the Boston media is "way overrepresented" and that it "shoved Joel low enough so that he's not an All-Star starter." Embiid finished fourth in overall voting in the East frontcourt behind Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brooklyn's Kevin Durant and Boston's Jayson Tatum.
Pritchard opens up about Celtics future ahead of trade deadline
On Monday's Early Edition, Mannix pointed out the flaws in Morey's argument while explaining the real reason Embiid didn't make the Eastern Conference starting lineup.
"First of all, it's pandering, obviously," Mannix said of Morey's comments. "He's on a local radio station doing his thing. And I understand it. I gave Daryl credit in the past for being transparent. He went on the radio all last year during the (Ben) Simmons stuff and said what he said. I appreciated that.
"He's also wrong. Let's start there. He's wrong. The media voted Joel Embiid number three. That means he was voted a starter by the media. The players voted Joel number three. The fans voted Joel number four. So maybe, Daryl, you should go to your marketing department and say, 'How is it that Philadelphia -- population 1.5 million -- was outvoted by Milwaukee -- population 500,000?' And maybe we start figuring that out from there."
Mannix didn't stop there. He went on to bring up Morey stepping down as Houston Rockets general manager on Oct. 15, 2020 and joining the Sixers not even one month later.
"Look, he's talking probably about someone like me who, by the way, voted Joel Embiid as a starter over Giannis Antetokounmpo. Or he's talking about Bill Simmons, or he's talking about Ryen Russillo," Mannix said.
"But calling somebody shameless -- here's what somebody objective might consider shameless. How about if you're an executive of a team that you build up in a somewhat contender way, and when that team is on fire and burnt down to the ground, you leave, say you're going to take some time off, and then weeks later you re-emerge with a contender. Some might say that is shameless, not voting for All-Star."
Morey's frustration is understandable as Embiid absolutely should be an All-Star starter. Through 36 games played, Embiid leads the NBA in scoring with 33.8 points per game while averaging 10.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 blocks.
Still, his gripe shouldn't be with Boston media, nor should it be with Tatum making the cut. Tatum has missed only three games this season and has averaged 31.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists for the best team in the NBA.
You can watch the full "Early Edition" segment with Mannix below:
