“The Process,” as made famous by former Philadelphia GM Sam Hinkie, is officially dead.
The Sixers own the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft and will likely select either Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram with the pick. The selection will mark a new era in Philly and new GM Bryan Colangelo says he’s ready to move the team away from gathering assets and towards winning.
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What’s evident now more than ever is The Process is over. Colangelo said he’s spoken to 80 percent of the current roster, saying no one’s spot is safe because there is “so much ahead of us.” His “be prepared for anything” mantra sounded almost Sam Hinkie-esque, but Colangelo was clear he wants to shape a basketball team rather than an asset farm.
“Everybody is thinking about winning, as opposed to prolonging the rebuilding process,” Colangelo said. “We’re really moving from that rebuilding and stripping down to a building process. We’re going to do things that put us in a position to win basketball games more so than collect future assets.”
While Colangelo wants to create a more cogent roster, it will not come via sacrificing the youth movement entirely. He said he is “99.9 percent sure” the Sixers will not trade the No. 1 overall pick. Philadelphia also holds the No. 24 and No. 26 selections, which the team could ship out for a veteran piece.
The Sixers don’t, however, expect to be major players in free agency. Having won a combined 47 games over the last three seasons, their path to contention remains up in the air. But Colangelo was quick to envision a scenario in the not-to-distant future where the organization could strike it rich in free agency.
“I don’t know we’ve got the story to sell one of the key free agents this year in terms of what we want to do. But another year of taking a step forward…I think we’ll have a compelling story to sell to not just one free agent but possibly two and maybe even three—to say ‘Do you want to come in a double-max situation? Or a triple-max situation?’
“As long as we’re smart and prudent and we maintain flexibility, that will be available to us for a while. Look at what [the Miami Heat] did when they planned for the Big Three to come there.”
