Josh Harris evaluates what Nick Nurse has done as coach of Sixers

CAMDEN, N.J. -- As the Philadelphia 76ers are in the middle of undergoing a regime change, they are keeping one constant at head coach.

As the Sixers part ways with Daryl Morey after six seasons as the team's President of Basketball Operations, they will keep coach Nick Nurse at the position for his fourth year. Nurse has compiled a 116-130 record in three seasons with Philadelphia, but that record is the way it is due to the poor 2024-25 season in which injuries ravaged the roster.

As Nurse prepares to head into his fourth season, he is getting another chance to guide this team on a deep playoff run. The Sixers finished 47-35 in his first season and 45-37 in his third season and they won a playoff series over the Boston Celtics for the first time since 1982 in this Round 1 after trailing 3-1. Sure, the Round 2 sweep was ugly, but Nurse guided this team to success despite getting hit with a ton of injuries once again.

"Look, I think the team played hard for Nick, and there were a lot of things that happened," said managing partner Josh Harris. "I think we all saw where there were various rosters that were available and rosters that weren't available. We were up tempo, then we slowed it down, and he handled all that, and even in the playoffs, the team played hard. And Nick's a championship coach. He’s won an NBA title. So, I think he's earned the right to be here. He's our coach moving forward in the next season."

As far as Nurse's involvement in the search for a new head of basketball operations, Harris and interim head of basketball ops Bob Myers will handle that search at the moment. They don't want to put too much on Nurse's plate.

"In terms of the search, I mean, I'll leave that to you (Myers, who was sitting next to Harris at the presser), but I think generally, certainly, you talk to your coach, you listen to what they want, but ultimately, his job is not to find the next GM or President of Basketball Ops," Harris explained. "It's our job."

Myers added that he met with Nurse at the draft combine in Chicago and he will certainly talk to the head coach, but he doesn't want him to get too involved in the search due to him having so much to handle on his end as the team's coach.

"I saw Nick yesterday (Wednesday) in Chicago," Myers explained. "He's got enough on his plate, and like Josh said, it is our job and our responsibility to locate this person, and it's not to exclude Nick, but again, he's got enough responsibility, and this is our focus. Look, I imagine somebody that we hire will be a great partner for Nick, and that's what we have to promise him."