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  3. article_body => "<p>Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey has been on the job for just over four months, but he's made a great first impression on the fanbase - and, seemingly, his players.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Morey has a penchant for going the extra mile to engage with fans online, and apparently he does the same thing to make sure his players know he's on their side.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Including shelling out some cold, hard cash (or, knowing Morey, maybe cold, digitized Bitcoin).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>In a feature published Friday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.truehoop.com\/p\/joel-embiid-bullies-the-3-point-revolution\">by Tom Haberstroh at TrueHoop<\/a>, Morey explained how his desire to connect with Sixers superstar and current MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid drove him to make an out-of-character purchase:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em><strong>\"...Morey is Embiid\u2019s new boss. They talk all the time. 'I actually bought an iPhone,' says Morey, 'just so I could FaceTime with Embiid.' (It was a big step for Morey, because, he says, 'I really hate Apple products.')\"<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>It might sound strange - buying a second phone just to FaceTime with a player? - but, to me, that's a pretty great move from Morey. His Android could definitely make phone calls to Embiid's iPhone, but Morey wanted to show Embiid he's willing to communicate on Embiid's terms, because Embiid is the face of the franchise. He went the extra mile. Love it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>It seems like the purchase may have happened pretty fast, too. In this popular photo taken on Halloween, Morey was still rocking an Android at the lunch table with Doc Rivers:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<drupal-url data-embed-button=\"url\" data-embed-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JClarkNBCS\/status\/1322659501158420486\" data-entity-label=\"Embed social\" data-timestamp=\"1615575365\" data-url-provider=\"Twitter\"><\/drupal-url>\r\n\r\n<p>By Nov. 2, when Morey's hiring was officially announced, he was posting a screenshot of himself FaceTime-ing with Embiid on their respective iPhones:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<drupal-url data-embed-button=\"url\" data-embed-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dmorey\/status\/1323403161915301889\" data-entity-label=\"Embed social\" data-timestamp=\"1615575373\" data-url-provider=\"Twitter\"><\/drupal-url>\r\n\r\n<p>You've got to love the dedication from Morey. That's a guy who gets it.<\/p>\r\n"
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  21. description => "Daryl Morey wanted to make sure Joel Embiid knew how committed he was to the Sixers, so he put his money where his mouth is. By Adam Hermann"
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  32. short_title => "Why Morey made unusual purchase to help Embiid relationship"
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Sixers

/ by Adam Hermann
Sixers

Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey has been on the job for just over four months, but he's made a great first impression on the fanbase - and, seemingly, his players.

Morey has a penchant for going the extra mile to engage with fans online, and apparently he does the same thing to make sure his players know he's on their side.

Including shelling out some cold, hard cash (or, knowing Morey, maybe cold, digitized Bitcoin).

In a feature published Friday by Tom Haberstroh at TrueHoop, Morey explained how his desire to connect with Sixers superstar and current MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid drove him to make an out-of-character purchase:

"...Morey is Embiid’s new boss. They talk all the time. 'I actually bought an iPhone,' says Morey, 'just so I could FaceTime with Embiid.' (It was a big step for Morey, because, he says, 'I really hate Apple products.')"

It might sound strange - buying a second phone just to FaceTime with a player? - but, to me, that's a pretty great move from Morey. His Android could definitely make phone calls to Embiid's iPhone, but Morey wanted to show Embiid he's willing to communicate on Embiid's terms, because Embiid is the face of the franchise. He went the extra mile. Love it.

It seems like the purchase may have happened pretty fast, too. In this popular photo taken on Halloween, Morey was still rocking an Android at the lunch table with Doc Rivers:

 

By Nov. 2, when Morey's hiring was officially announced, he was posting a screenshot of himself FaceTime-ing with Embiid on their respective iPhones:

You've got to love the dedication from Morey. That's a guy who gets it.