Processing

By Alex Gordon and Joe Smeltzer
Alex

2011-12: It seems so long ago…  

Only six seasons ago the Philadelphia 76ers went to the conference semi-finals and battled the Lebron era Heat. Most will point out it was a fluke that they were there in the first place. They were the eighth seed, going up against a prime Derrick Rose Bull’s team, and if not for an untimely injury to the Bull’s star, they probably would have been quickly dismissed. That’s inconsequential in the scope of the process. Point being the Sixers were, relatively recently, a qualified NBA team. In the context of past playoff droughts, the Sixers ineptitude over the last few years are a blip on the radar. Granted they will most likely pass their franchise record of seven years without a playoff berth next season, but the longest time a franchise has gone without making the playoffs is the Clippers with 15 seasons. The Timberwolves have an active 12 season streak; the Warriors have two separate 12 and 9 season stretches of playoff virginity within the last 35 years.  Failure for an NBA team over this extended period is almost always due to faulty management.  Questionable signings missed draft picks, and “win now” deals that salvage the future for making a bleak present slightly brighter, are what cause these periods of prolonged underperformance. This isn’t Philadelphia's problem. However, management throughout has known what they’re doing. Because of this, the valleys of the process have been some of the lowest ever. What we are beginning to see, though, is the peaks might be just as high. 

Alex

2012-13: The Bynasty

   

Never forget

The Sixers were supposed to be a team on the rise before all of this started. Despite Iguodala leaving in free agency, Philadelphia's front office was attempting to form a young core around Andrew Bynum, their marquee acquisition that off-season. What’s funny is at the time this was feasible.  The season prior, Bynum was playing like the best center in the league with the Lakers, Jrue Holliday seemed like an up-and-coming star point guard.  Forces outside their control derailed this dream before it even had a chance, though. Bynum never played a game for the Sixers; his knees failed him over and over again, it was absurd to the point of managing to aggravate them while bowling.  He had season-ending surgery on both knees March 19th, and almost every other significant Sixer missed time as well.  This strange, faded, the season is what laid the groundwork for the team to tank as egregiously as any organization in league history.  What’s odd is that it came out of an aggressive, and at the time, reasonable attempt to change the course of the franchise for the better. Odder still is it may have done just that in an incredibly roundabout way.         

Joe: 2013-14: MCW to the rescue
After that 34-48 finish in 2012-13, the Sixers began their run as a laughing stock. It started on June 27th, 2013. Here, Philidelphia made a controversial decision to trade away one of their few star players, point guard Jrue Holliday, for the draft rights of Kentucky big man Nerlens Noel. As talented as Noel was, he was equally prone to get hurt, and we have yet to see what he can become in the NBA. With the Sixers other first round pick, they took a point guard from Syracuse named Michael-Carter Williams. It’s not often that a first-round pick gets traded less than two years after his arrival. It’s even rarer that the said first-round pick gets the boot after winning Rookie of the Year. Well, both of those things happened to MCW. 

Carter-Williams was about the only good thing about the Sixers in 2013-14. The rest is self-explanatory; 19-63. A 15 win drop off. So, considering that, the eventual trade of Michael Carter-Williams seems like a horrible, horrible idea. But as it turns out, it was a wise decision by the Sixers front office. In exchange, the Sixers would receive a future draft pick, and MCW has since gone somewhat down the tubes. 

 As many experts agree, it’s better to be awful than mediocre, and to me, this season was where the “process” began. 

Still Joe: 2014-15: Embiid is here!

Well, not really. Joel Embiid was the Sixers #1 overall draft choice. But he was hurt for all of what would have been his rookie season, so Philly had to wait. The process was in full swing, as tthe Sixers went 18-64.  By now, everybody who follows the game of basketball knew what this team's agenda was; lose, and lose a lot. Philidelphia was so awful that many speculated that 2015’s best college team, the Kentucky Wildcats, could whip them is the two teams were to meet. As bad as Philidelphia was, there was still hope, as although he was injured, Embiid was still a member of the organization, and fans could not wait to see what would happen once he was healthy enough to hit the floor. Not only was Embiid now (hopefully) in the fold, another crappy year meant that the Sixers would get another top 5 draft choice..

It's still Joe: 2015-16: Ja Rules

With the second pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the 76ers selected Jahlil Okafor. Okafor got off to a rocky start, beat up some guys, and again, the Sixers stunk. However, as bad as the Sixers seemed to be, it felt as if the fewer games they won, the more optimistic their outlook was. 

Yes, the Sixers finished the year at 10-72. But young, scrappy players like T.J. McConnel, Ish Smith, Robert Covington, and, when his head was on straight, Jahlil Okafor, were reasons to get excited about the future. Another thing 2015-16 showed was that Brett Brown was the right man for the job, as with every loss, it seemed the head man stayed optimistic. 

The native of Portland, Oregon, had gone from cutting his teeth with Greg Popovich and the Spurs, and winning a lot, to running a ship that some thought was sinking. But Brown kept at it, and now we are starting to see, at least the effort of the squad, come to fruition.

Also, the big man's debut was just around the corner. 

Alex

Alex: 2016-17: The year of Embiid

At the All-Star break, the Sixers already have eleven more wins than they did all last season. Brian Colangelo made smart moves after replacing Sam Hinkie, bringing in veterans like Gerald Henderson, Jerryd Bayless, and Sergio Rodriguez to provide some wisdom in a locker room full of early twenty-somethings. The obvious reason for their improvement is Joel Embiid. Finally healthy, the big fella is evolving into a superstar. They have a bunch of interesting pieces around him. Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor are probably the most intriguing, not because of what they could do for the Sixers, but what they could get in return for them. Noel and Okafor are still young, and even though they both have flaws in their game, there are teams that would love to get their hands on these guys. If Philly can get the right pieces in return for them, then you could see the beginnings of a dangerous nucleus around Embiid and Ben Simmons (who is yet to play this season). All this on top of the fact that they will, in all likelihood, be near the top of this year's draft again.  Could this backfire still? Of course. Embiid’s injury history is seriously concerning, especially for a young center. Simmons is yet to show he can make shots reliably from the outside, which will be critical if he’s paired with Embiid.  What’s incredible to me is, for all the argument over the audacity of what the Sixers were doing (an opposition so loud it cost the plan’s architect his job), watching the Sixers now, as cheers of “trust the process” rain down on Embiid at the line, a bright future seems just as likely as a dark one, and potentially sooner than anyone thought.  

Back to Joe: Things are looking up. The franchise that was the subject of dinner-table humor less than a year ago is now looking to turn the corner. The Sixers are not the most talented team in the Eastern Conference. Far from it, in fact. But they have a strong work ethic, at least one budding superstar, and a head coach that has learned how to weather the storm. There is still work to be done, but there is no question that Philidelphia is headed up. Take notes, New York Knicks.