CAMDEN, N.J. – For 33 minutes on Thursday afternoon, Sixers Managing Partner Josh Harris sat next to Bob Myers, the President of Sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment tasked with running the Sixers in the interim and leading the search to find a permanent replacement for Daryl Morey, whose six-year tenure with the organization came to an end on Tuesday.

When Harris officially announced Morey's departure, it was communicated via press release that Myers, a four-time NBA champion as the lead executive of the Golden State Warriors, "will lead the process of identifying a new leader of basketball operations and oversee the department in the interim."

Over the course of those 33 minutes, however, it became clear that Myers is not simply going to fade into the background after he makes a hire. Myers is set to be a crucial figure within the organization moving forward.

On Myers' likely influence in the critical period ahead and beyond, plus other takeaways from a major day in the world of the Sixers:

Bob Myers is here to stay

It became clear from Harris' opening remarks on Thursday that Myers is not going to make a hire and simply yield all of the autonomy he just assumed to the person he brings in. Harris made a point on multiple occasions to refer to that eventual hire as the "day-to-day" leader of the Sixers' basketball operations department.

"Bob Myers will oversee basketball and run the process to identify a new day-to-day leader," Harris said.

On multiple occasions, Harris spoke as if Thursday's press conference was an introductory availability for Myers, not one called to explain Morey's ouster. Asked about the frustrations of Sixers fans growing in recent years, Harris said nobody is more frustrating than him and tied that into why he felt compelled to "[go] out and [get] someone as talented as Bob to kind of help Philly achieve its goals."

"[W]e have a four-time NBA champion here who's going to be overseeing basketball ops," Harris said earlier, "and that's a big deal."

How does Myers see his role with the Sixers evolving once his hire is made? "What they're going to get, and our fans are going to get," he said as part of an extended response, "is them plus me."

To date, Myers' work with HBSE has spanned all of the sports and teams the ownership group has its hands on. But Myers certainly sounds prepared to be particularly involved with the Sixers moving forward. Given his illustrious career as an NBA executive, it is not challenging to understand why. Myers' answer about his role once he hires a new executive will certainly be dissected.

"I won't be on a day-to-day level, but on the high-level decision making, which is being here at the draft, being here leading up to the trade deadline, being available for free agency discussions, free agency meetings, things like that, I'm going to be involved at that level," Myers said. "And I can tell you that I imagine – and this isn't, I'm not saying this lightly – I'll be communicating with that person daily, if not five out of seven days a week. And I don't only view that as at a job. [It is] because I want to. I want to hire somebody that I can work with. I want to hire somebody that Josh can work with. And most importantly, I want to win. And I think that I have had some experience in this space, and if I have something to say, it's harder for me not to say it than say it. But that'll be my role, and obviously continuing to work with Josh on all this very high-level stuff."

MORE: How Morey's Sixers tenure reached its end

Prioritize young players or veterans? It's not yet clear

What would be most refreshing about a front-office regime change to many Sixers fans: a new group of decision-makers focusing on the timelines of 25-year-old Tyrese Maxey and 20-year-old VJ Edgecombe instead of trying to salvage the lives of the massive contracts Morey handed out to Joel Embiid and Paul George.

Are the Sixers going to pivot to a forward-looking approach, or is the goal still to win around two of the highest-paid players in the NBA?

Myers did not tip his hand.

"That is the question. And if I had the answer to that question, I'd actually just do it. I don't know if I need to tell you. I'd just do it," Myers said. "I look forward to partnering with leadership to get that answer, but you're asking the right question, but that's a question I think everybody's asking. And it's not to criticize an older player or praise a younger player. It's about: how do we get past the second round? How do we get further? But that's what makes the job hard. That's what makes it gratifying, is figuring — if it was easy, it wouldn't be worth it. It's very hard to build these things and build them in the right way."

Predictably and rightfully, Myers indicated that as he leads the search for a new lead executive, he will be open to any and all pathways presented by those candidates. Whichever person can sell their vision the most effectively should be empowered, regardless of if that vision aligns with how Myers or Harris would like to see this franchise evolve. Myers pointed out that the hope is for someone to come in and create a long track record of success; the hire will not be based on a one-year plan.

"I'm not going to base it on the first thing they do, the first player [they acquire]," Myers said. "If we get it right, this person will be here for a long, long time and make many decisions, and hopefully many of the right decisions."

The three-star roster debate

A helpful change of tune from the Sixers: after years of volunteering excuses for why the team was not performing as well as a list of its players on paper might indicate it would, Myers was adamant that the roster as currently constructed is not good enough.

"The thing I liked was that we got to see – and it's maybe not completely, but we got to see a healthy team. We got to see, at least in the playoffs for the most part, Joel came back. And when you're healthy in the playoffs, the best part is you don't have any excuses about why you lost," Myers said. "You lost. I didn't like ever going into the playoffs with, 'Well, so and so was hurt, and if he had been healthy, we would've...' Those hypotheticals aren't helpful. So what is helpful is we played a team, we were mostly healthy, we lost. Okay. Let's just be honest about that. Let's acknowledge that."

That leads to an obvious question for Myers to answer. Morey's views on roster-building have become unpopular, but he built the Sixers in his image. He chased stars and got three of them. In an era of restrictive aprons as part of the NBA's new salary cap environment, the Sixers have three players on max contracts taking up nearly the entire cap. That has come at the expense of depth, which under Morey the Sixers did not prioritize the way other teams have in recent years.

Can a three-star model still lead to a championship in today's NBA? Myers acknowledged the challenge of doing so, but did not say it cannot happen. He did make a point to emphasize the importance of depth in a manner which represents a clear change in philosophy.

"Well, we didn't get it done this year with three guys, but that doesn't mean it can't be done," Myers said. "I think it's a smart question in that, what's the modern roster supposed to look like with the second apron, really, which oftentimes operates as kind of a hard cap? The truth is, depth may be more important than it's ever been. Maybe that's the pace of play. Maybe that's what we require of our players more. Not to say that this model doesn't work, but we have to look at what happened this year and be honest about it and see if – we've got to be honest about, can this model work? And that's really the question, and also understanding that depth is key, and you only have a certain amount of resources to spend. So that's something – that's all part of the questions. It's all part of what we need to figure out going forward." 

Nick Nurse's future

There is a common belief in sports that having a head coach in place while attempting to hire a lead executive can be problematic. Executives want to hire coaches, after all, and if that head coach is in firm standing it might prevent the executive coming in and really leaving their imprint on the organization.

Of all of the different permutations of the will-or-won't-he-go hypotheticals surrounding Morey and Nurse, the Sixers landed on the one that seemed the least likely: head coach Nick Nurse Nurse outlasting Morey.

Why is Nurse still in Philadelphia when Morey, the person who hired him, is gone?

"The team played hard for Nick, and there were a lot of things that happened, I think we all saw, where there were various rosters that were available and rosters that weren't available," Harris said. "We were up-tempo, and 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 into next season."

Will Nurse have any level of influence over Myers' search for a lead executive? Harris said "you listen to what [Nurse wants], but ultimately his job is not to find the next GM or President of Basketball Ops," and Myers expressed a similar sentiment.

"I saw Nick yesterday in Chicago. He's got enough on his plate," Myers said. "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. But look, I imagine somebody that we hire will be a great partner for Nick, and that's what we have to promise him."

It is hard to imagine Nurse's presence being a significant impediment to Myers' search; Nurse is well-regarded as a coach and his lack of remarkable success in Philadelphia certainly puts him on notice heading into his fourth season.

MORE: Candidates to replace Morey

Role of next lead executive

How much autonomy is the new lead executive actually going to have in Philadelphia? What prospective candidates believe the answer to that question is might be far more consequential to the quality of Myers' search than the presence of an incumbent head coach.

Given Myers' decorated career, the trust he has from Harris, the way Harris spoke about him as the person set to "oversee" basketball operations and Myers' own words about being heavily involved with the Sixers moving forward, it is fair to wonder exactly how much the person Myers hires will be able to craft a team in their own vision.

That question was posed to Myers, who tried to establish his hire's authority while also keeping the door open for him to exert his own sway.

"If I do a good job, [they will have] a tremendous amount of autonomy, because that's what you want: hire somebody, let them do their job," Myers said. "But at the highest level, you certainly give your opinion, you weigh in."

Myers is as successful of an executive as there has been in recent NBA history; it stands to reason many people will view the Sixers' opening as an attractive one in part because of Myers' presence. But will this vacancy, being marketed as a true lead shot-calling gig, actually appear like one to candidates? His continued differentiation between "day-to-day" and "high-level" decision-making leaves much up to interpretation, and Harris' acknowledgments that Myers is overseeing basketball operations will lead many to believe that it is Myers who truly runs this show now.

Myers, who did not specify which types of candidates he plans to interview and added that he hopes to have the person in place before next month's NBA Draft, would be likely to dispute that claim – at least such black-and-white wording – but it would probably be welcomed news for many in a city that has been chomping at the bit to see someone with a history of winning championships replace Morey.

Myers is most certainly that. And he appears quite invested in the short- and long-term health of the Sixers.

MORE: Full transcript of Harris & Myers' press conference