It seems appropriate that a day after the Sixers beat the Thunder to bring up the Process again.
The Thunder are in a similar spot that the Sixers were in just a few years ago. They have a bunch of nobodies taking the court every night but are in a position to make noise in the future. Thanks to General Manager Sam Presti, the Thunder have… wait for it…
18 first round picks in the next 6 drafts combined!
Presti has made a multitude of trades including shipping Chris Paul, George Hill, Dennis Schröder, and others out of town all to assemble a ton of first round picks. Sound familiar?
Under Sam Hinkie, the Sixers made similar moves and were by far the worst team in the NBA for the majority of the 2010s. The Sixers were the laughing stock for years, but in return, the past three seasons we have seen competitive basketball come back to Philadelphia and with that the return of fans.
Not just competitive basketball, but for the bulk of the past 4 years, they have been Finals contenders thanks to Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, two players acquired because of “the Process”.
Yes, the ultimate goal is to win a ring there is no denying that. The Sixers have put themselves in a position to be legitimate title contenders as long as Embiid, 27, and Simmons, 24 remain relevant.
Joel Embiid is obviously in the midst of his most dominant year and was the front runner for MVP up until a knee contusion sidelined him for over two weeks.
Ben Simmons has drastically improved his free throw shooting and for the first time in a couple of years, looks like he has taken a step forward from the previous season.
Thanks to the two stars and the phenomenal signings and trades made by Daryl Morey, the Sixers are yet again tied for first place in the Eastern Conference with 19 games to go.
With the fruit from the tree of “the Process” starting to blossom and the right men in charge being Morey and Doc Rivers, the Sixers seem like they have the upper hand for years to come.
Every night that Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons take the floor, it is a constant reminder that “the Process” was indeed a success.
Photo via The Associated Press
