Gonzo: ‘The Process” Still Reigns in Bryan Colangelo's First Sixers Draft

If you didn’t know who was saying the words, if you simply closed your eyes and listened – absent any inflection or accent that might give away the speaker’s identity – the remarks would have sounded awfully consistent with other statements given in similar situations over the last few years. The words “patience” and “process” were employed, which is standard stuff considering the organization. And yet it was a bit jarring, because the man who uttered all those things this time around is decidedly different than the man who preceded him.

When the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft was finished, Bryan Colangelo addressed the media assembly at PCOM. The Sixers took Ben Simmons with the first overall pick, as expected. But despite ceaseless reports and rumors, they did not unload Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor to move back into the lottery, nor did they jettison the 24th or 26th picks. Those decisions were somewhat less expected. What followed was a rather remarkable explanation given the organization’s open desire to advance the rebuild and regain relevance in the league (or some semblance of it).

“This is a work in progress that will continue throughout the summer,” Colangelo said.  “We have free agency on the horizon. There were numerous trade scenarios that we looked at. We didn’t feel like any of those trade scenarios would put us in a position where we want to be moving forward. So we took a patient approach. We passed on a few opportunities where we could have reached. We decided that, whether it was retaining assets, particularly future assets, future picks, we still feel like this was the right process to follow.”

Draft night could have gone sideways for the Sixers, and fast. An initial report had the Sixers offering Noel, Robert Covington and the 24th and 26th picks to the Celtics for the third pick, ostensibly so they could annex Kris Dunn. A subsequent report had the Sixers offering the same package to the Timberwolves for the fifth pick, ostensibly so they could annex Kris Dunn. None of it came to fruition, and afterward Colangelo called the trade rumors false and insisted that those rumors didn’t come from the Sixers. You can believe that or dismiss it as post-draft propaganda and damage control. Who leaked what for which purposes matters less than the ultimate outcome – the fact the Sixers, under new management, chose to keep building rather than pressing the detonation plunger on their still on-going construction project.

Whether the Sixers stay committed to the slow-and-steady, asset-accumulation approach is still very much in doubt. As everyone knows, and as Colangelo admitted, they have a clogged frontcourt that needs to be addressed. That’s tricky stuff. But while we wait to see how Colangelo solves that problem, he should be commended for not simply taking a sledgehammer to the issue. That’s what the Noel/Covington/24/26 deal would have been – a big blow to a situation that requires a more delicate solution. The Sixers must move either Noel or Okafor in time, but as Colangelo rightly pointed out, they shouldn’t do it just for the sake of it. Better to keep everyone in house, awkward fit and all, and retain valuable assets until a more useful resolution presents itself.

Beyond that, the Sixers made two fascinating picks at the end of the first round, taking French wing Timothe Luwawu 24th and Turkish guard Furkan Korkmaz 26th. Both guys are the kinds of young, raw players with future potential that might have been favored by the previous administration (and both got rave reviews from the TTP/RTRS crowd). It’s uncertain whether their respective buyouts will permit them to play for the Sixers this coming season or whether one or both will be stamped with draft-and-stash status. Either way, they were smart picks with upside that make sense for a team that wants to add as much talent as possible while avoiding moves that would rush the roster back to the NBA’s dreaded mediocre middle.

As Colangelo said, the roster is far from set. The Sixers have lots of decisions still to make. It’s possible they scrap the patience and process approach in the coming weeks/months and overreach in an attempt to supercharge the rebuild. But for now, what they did on draft night gets full marks. They resisted the urge to do something for the sake of it and at the expense of the future. That’s encouraging.

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