What the Phuck, Philly?

Remember the Process? The grand plan of the Philadelphia 76ers a little over a decade ago that was supposed to turn the team into a perpetual title contender? In case you need a little refresher, here’s the nutshell version.

In the mid-2010s, after several mediocre but productive seasons (four trips to the playoffs in six years), the Sixers decided not just to tank, but to tank hard. It’s a strategy that teams have used pretty much since drafts were created, but Philly did something unusual: It announced its intentions to suck. And suck it did.

For years, the team made dubious draft choices and questionable free agent signings while jettisoning their best players. Case in point: Jrue Holiday, coming off of an All-Star season, was traded for the rights to Nerlens Noel, who was coming off of a serious ACL injury. Noel didn’t play a minute in his first season, and this would be a recurring theme for Philadelphia. It was moves like this that made the first part of the Process a rousing success; for four seasons, the team compiled a dismal record of 75-253, only winning more than 19 games once in that span.

But then a funny thing happened. It looked as though the Process might actually work. The Sixers drafted Joel Embiid, and although injuries delayed his debut for two years, once he began to play, he quickly looked like a true franchise player to build around. However, just like with that famous old bell in Philadelphia, cracks began to show in the Process. The team drafted yet another player who wouldn’t play his first season – Ben Simmons. And while he had a pretty solid few seasons with the club, he never lived up to his hype and his exit was ugly.

And here’s something else that in retrospect looks ugly: Philly had a chance to draft Jayson Tatum, and instead opted for Markelle Fultz, who became one of the biggest busts in recent NBA history. Since then, there has been a revolving door of high-priced (and often high-maintenance) players that have come and gone, including Jimmy Butler and James Harden, and the only thing to show for it was several early-round playoff losses.

The most recent star the Sixers obtained in an attempt to keep its championship window pried open is 35-year-old Paul George, who was given a 4-year contract worth over $200 million before last season. The team must have a thing for injured players because George has spent much of his career in street clothes on the bench, and in fact he only played 41 games last year because he was hurt.

With the third pick in the upcoming draft, Philadelphia has a chance at a bit of a reset. This provides an excellent opportunity to bring in a young player to pair with burgeoning star Tyrese Maxey, and if – and it’s a huge if – Embiid is healthy, just maybe they’ll have another crack at a title.

But, because they’re the Sixers, rumors are flying that they could trade the pick. And who might they trade it for? Kevin Durant. While this would’ve made perfect sense a decade ago, Durant is 36 years old and has missed a substantial amount of time over the last several years due to injuries. That sounds oddly familiar, doesn’t it?

While the Process may have officially (or unofficially) ended years ago, the ramifications are still being felt in the City of Brotherly Love. And – like communism – it will go down in history as a concept that may have looked good on paper but ultimately resulted in a lot of people getting hurt. Now the question is, can the Sixers put the past behind them and finally start making smart decisions or are they destined for the Process 2.0?