Daryl Morey just got fired by the 76ers, but this might actually be the best thing to happen to the NBA in years. Here's why the league should hire him to be its version of Theo Epstein—the mastermind who helped fix baseball.

Morey isn't just a former executive. He's the co-founder of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, a pioneer who changed how basketball is played. During his time with the Rockets and 76ers, he pushed the game toward faster paces and more three-pointers. Almost every team now follows that blueprint.

But here's the problem: all those analytics have made the game less fun to watch. The regular season feels repetitive, injuries are piling up, and fans are tuning out. Sound familiar? It's the same situation baseball faced after "Moneyball" took over.

Back in 2021, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred hired Theo Epstein—the Yale grad who won World Series with the Red Sox and Cubs using analytics—to clean up the sport's aesthetics. It was like a casino hiring a blackjack cheater to find the flaws in their own system. As PFT Commenter said on Pardon My Take, "It's Catch Me if You Can, Frank Abagnale."

And it worked. In 2023, MLB banned the shift, added a pitch clock, and games got 24 minutes shorter. Ratings and attendance climbed. The sport became watchable again.

The NBA has a similar mess to fix. Load management, stagnant offenses, and a regular season that feels like a warm-up for the playoffs. Morey understands the analytics that created these issues better than anyone—which makes him the perfect person to solve them. He knows where the levers are because he helped build the machine.

Adam Silver should pick up the phone. The NBA needs its own Epstein, and Daryl Morey is ready for the job.