The Top 10 Culprits of The Process Failing

The Process is over.

Some say it officially ended with their First Round sweep of the Bubble playoffs at the hands of the Celtics. Others say it was over with Kawhi’s four bounces. Or the brutally bad off-season from last year that saw key players Jimmy Butler, JJ Redick and TJ McConnell walk while Al Hordford and Tobias Harris each got an albatross contract. But for Hinkie-ites the real end of The Process was Sam Hinkie’s abrupt exit from the Sixers due to the NBA pressuring the organization to get rid of him.

Either way, the long excruciating process of throwing away seasons for high draft picks that was supposed to flourish into a decade of contention resulted in the Sixers being contenders for approximately TWO seasons.

In 2020, the Sixers feel like yesterday’s trendy team in the Eastern conference and teams like the Bucks, Raptors, Celtics and Nets all have brighter futures than the team that seemed to work the hardest to rebuild. What happened? How did it all go bad this fast?

Here are the ten individuals most responsible for the Sixers inevitable fall back to rock bottom.

 

10. Jahil Okafor

Maybe I’m reaching by picking on Jah. His only impressive accomplishment with the Sixers is being drafted by the team and actually PLAYING right away. Getting a young athletic rookie from draft night to the first game of the regular season healthy was REALLY hard for the Sixers to do.

Despite winning a championship at Duke, Okafor was really a dinosaur in the NBA who had little to no value as a trade asset. His off court maturity didn’t help either. Just think about, the Sixers threw away an entire season to get…Jah. While Kristaps Porzingis was taken at the very next pick in that draft.

 

9. Al Horford

Regardless of what team he’s on, basketball fans should “appreciate” Al Horford for his sturdy defense and ability to contribute to a good team. But Horford hurt The Process both as an opponent and contributor to the Sixers. No one played better against Embiid than Horford did as a Celtic which may have been the difference in that 2018 playoff series.

Apparently management was so impressed by the veteran’s efforts that they decided to sign him to a bloated contract. Leading to this classic tweet:

“Corporate needs you to find the differences between this picture and this picture” pic.twitter.com/OoT3mPuvD8

— Life of a Philly Fan (@PhillyFanLife) February 5, 2020

While thankfully the Birds got rid of DeMarco Murray quickly, it may take a year or two to unload Horford.

 

8. Kawhi Leonard

The biggest series, the biggest game, and the biggest moment of the Sixers since their 2001 NBA Finals run was the final seconds of their 2nd Round series against the Toronto Raptors. And the difference-maker in that series was Number 2.

The fact that Kawhi Leonard was in Toronto at all is absurd. The heir apparent to the Spurs dynasty decided he wanted out and Masai Ujiri made a huge gamble by renting him in exchange for the Raptors franchise player, DeMar DeRozan. The gamble paid off huge and Leonard’s performance in the 2019 NBA playoffs, specifically in Game 4 and Game 7 against the Sixers, will live forever in NBA lore. Had the Sixers made it to the conference finals, The Process could be considered a success because they made it to place they haven’t been since 2001. Instead, they became the LOB City Clippers.

 

7. Brett Brown

Brett Brown deserves respect for going through the Tank years and getting a chance to coach the Sixers when they were legit. But in the end, he wasn’t the right coach to maximize the talent and lead them to greater heights. Brad Stevens and Nick Nurse out-coaching Brown in the playoffs was his ultimate undoing. Hopefully The Process Hall of Famer can get a fresh start coaching another team someday.

 

6. Elton Brand

To be fair, Elton Brand took over as Sixers general manager during a weird period for the team. They were in the aftermath of Burner-Gate and spent a long time looking for Bryan Colangelo’s replacement. So the Sixers decided to appoint Brand just a few years out of retirement from playing.

While he did acquire Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris to go all in in 2019, falling a few bounces short of the Conference Finals, it’s his offseason moves that killed The Process for good. It will take years to unload Harris’ Horford’s contracts and surround a better supporting for Embiid and/or Simmons. It just feels like a new general manager from outside should be doing this.

 

5. Markelle Fultz

I could go on forever about Volde-Fultz. What looked like the ideal third piece for the Sixers new Big 3 instead became . . . I don’t even know what . . . I rather read an HP Lovecraft story.

How did we see this kid drink milk from an utter?!

 

4. Bryan Colengelo

Anybody who thinks Bryan Colangelo got the general manager job because he was the most qualified candidate is too optimistic about the world. The former Suns and Raptors executive got another job running the Sixers thanks to his father and altered Sam Hinkie’s vision.

His failure to recognize Fultz’s immaturity and Jayson Tatum’s true potential will be his eternal legacy in Philadelphia. But at least the Hinkie-ites got their revenge with Burner-gate. Who knows how things would be if that didn’t happen!

 

3. Jerry Colangelo

While Bryan Colangelo made the moves, it was his father Jerry Colangelo who appointed him. After decades of running the Phoenix Suns the NBA decided to force Jerry Colangelo onto the Sixers and intervene in their highly visible tanking.

Jerry hired Bryan, Bryan did Bryan things, etc. etc. Jerry maybe a legend in Phoenix, but he sure aint in Philly.

 

2. Josh Harris

It starts at the top, and Josh Harris’s submitting to the NBA’s insistence that Sam Hinkie be removed sealed his fate as the worst owner in Philly sports today. At least John Middleton badly wants to win!

All good owners have a positive presence on their team and wants to win badly, and Josh Harris doesn’t have that vibe. He’s more of a business man who recognizes the draw Embiid and Simmons are and will likely not go too drastic in trying to win a championship. Obviously you can’t replace the owner so all we can do is hope he hires the right people this time to run the team.

 

1. Adam Silver

That’s right, Adam Silver is the first to blame at the fall of Sam Hinkie and The Process. Sure, Silver overall is a good commissioner and the only one who doesn’t get booed by fans. But he’d probably get booed in Philadelphia, and for good reason.

While plenty of teams tank, the Sixers style of tanking garnered so much attention that it became a national story. It wasn’t illegal, or immoral, it was just a big story the NBA wanted to go away. Which is why it’s not that crazy to think that their were ulterior motives for Silver and the NBA wanting Hinkie out.

Maybe they planted the Colangelos to ruin the Sixers on purpose. If they became perennial title contenders, it will set a precedent for all teams to tank…which they do anyway! The Warriors and Knicks tank today and no one bats an eye, the Sixers tank in the mid-2010s and everyone loses their minds.

Maybe Hinkie was a genius who was just a little too ahead of his time. When the 76ers are in that unfortunate position when they have to suck again, maybe this time it won’t be interfered with and the unfinished masterpiece that is The Process will finally be completed.