College•News•Sixers•Unique Columns
When All We Can Do Is To Invite You
Just days before the 2025 NBA Draft , one team was told by Rutgers star Ace Bailey’s agents not to bother selecting him on the night of the draft.
Just weeks before , he cancelled a scheduled workout with the Sixers.
A few years back — in an earlier version of The Process — the Sixers might have just drafted him anyway.
Instead, the 76ers made history by drafting just the tenth Player to play in the NBA from the Bahamas, Baylor star player to play in the NBA — Guard VJ Edgecombe.
Edgecombe will join Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Paul George in an attempt to bring the Sixers back to playoff relevance.
If the Sixers were concerned about selecting a player who didn’t want to play in Philadelphia , all of those concerns would melt away with Edgecombe. Just moments after joining NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on stage — a humbled VJ Edgecombe and his family — overcome with emotion — delivered a humbled message of excitement about coming to Philadelphia.
The 76ers also added Auburn Center Johni Broome, as well as signing Hunter Sallis to a two-way contract as an undrafted rookie free agent.
Since the beginning of this infernal process , the Sixers have had to part ways with all kinds of talent. But they’ve also invested in talent that didn’t want to be here. Ben Simmons cancelled a workout with the team in 2016 prior to being drafted, and Jahlil Okafor soon didn’t want to be in Philadelphia after seeing how the team wanted to develop Joel Embiid.
In the end, we may never know if the Sixers were the team Ace Bailey didn’t want to play for.
What we do know is that taking into account investing in a player that does not want to be in Philadelphia is not just a change of course for an organization that is trying to take a step forward — it’s a sign that they’ve learned from their mistakes.
After all , can we only offer an invitation?
Whether you’d like one or not.
PHOTO: Brad Penner/Imagn Images
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