With Key Pieces in Place, Sixers Have Reason to Be Optimistic About Future

We're 29 games into the NBA season and the Sixers already have seven wins.
 
They won't get a parade for a 7-22 record by Christmas, but after winning 10 games all of last season, it appears The Process is showing true progress.
 
With that in mind, let's show some holiday cheer and look at a few optimistic points about the Sixers' future.
 
The Process and a Unicorn
Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid playing together. Get your popcorn ready, Sixers fans.
 
Simmons is going to play an NBA game soon. How soon, we don't know. But just imagine the possibilities.
 
Simmons' presence makes this team deeper almost immediately (I say almost because we know a minutes restriction is coming). Sergio Rodriguez and T.J. McConnell will play a lesser role which should certainly benefit the team. Something clearly has to give with the bigs (we're choosing to stay positive for this piece), but Brett Brown now has, dare I say, "optionality."
 
And let's not forgot about the quality of player the Sixers are getting. This was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. At the time of the draft, I profiled Simmons and the only parallel was Magic Johnson. That's not saying Simmons will ever equal arguably the greatest point guard of all time, but a 6-foot-10 player with his handle and court vision running the point is a unicorn.
 
And what's not to love about Embiid?
 
The at-times dominant post player with a sweet stroke and social media mastery has been so fun to watch. Embiid's minutes restriction and inability to play back-to-back games along with the logjam at center have dampened the enthusiasm at times, but just look at the numbers: 18.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. That's 27.1 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per 36 minutes.
 
He's running away with the Rookie of the Year award. All of this is staggering when you consider he hadn't played basketball in two years and didn't even start playing until he was 15. As far as excitement level for a single Sixers player, there hasn't been anyone since Allen Iverson that has gotten Philly in this much of a frenzy. With all of the young stars rising in the city right now across all four sports, Embiid may be the brightest one.
 
There's going to be plenty of bumps along the way, but watching Simmons and Embiid in the second half should be a lot of fun.
 
The Pennsylvania lottery
Armed with their own pick and the Lakers' top-three protected pick, the Sixers will likely be picking twice in the lottery. The good news for the Sixers is that this draft is shaping up to be a pretty deep one. Even better news is that it's deep with what they need: guards and wings.
 
Markelle Fultz is the front-runner to be the No. 1 overall pick. He'd be an excellent fit as a point guard who is more of a scorer/shooter (49 percent from three) than a facilitator to play with Simmons (not to say Fultz is a poor passer). Malik Monk of Kentucky is an undersized combo guard who, like Fultz, can light up the scoreboard. Lonzo Ball of UCLA is another combo guard with the ability to shoot (43 percent from three) and dish (8.3 assists).
 
Then there's athletic wings like high-flying Kansas freshman Josh Jackson who can do a little bit of everything. The ACC has two long, athletic wings that can wreak havoc on both ends in Florida State's Isaac Austin and Duke's Jayson Tatum. Landing one of these guys would give the Sixers scary length and a potentially disruptive defense.
 
There's also Frenchman Frank Ntilikina, the 6-foot-5 point guard with the seven-foot wingspan. He's currently playing professionally in France and led team France to victory in the U18 Euro Championship.  He was the MVP of the tournament, scoring 31 points and hitting 7 of 10 from three in the championship game.
 
The point is, the Sixers have two possible generational talents in Embiid and Simmons. There's a good possibility of them taking at least one more in the 2017 NBA draft.
 
Know your role
Brown's first three seasons have been a mess as far roster consistency and players fitting into roles. Recognizing Embiid and Simmons as building blocks helps make the picture a little more clear. Nothing is more evidence of this than the trade that brought the Sixers Ersan Ilysasova.
 
Ilysasova has been an excellent complement to Embiid and will no doubt be one to Simmons. He's been the team's second-best player for most of the season, averaging 14.3 points and 6.2 rebounds a contest. He's a true stretch four. Over time, the hope is Dario Saric could develop into a similar player except Saric's passing ability and court vision are much better than Ilyasova's. Their age 22 seasons compare pretty favorably. Saric's three-point shot has been a pleasant surprise. It's continued progression could be huge for his future with the Sixers.
 
Then there's Robert Covington. Many fans were too busy booing Covington earlier this season to realize that he's become a menace on the defensive end. He's steadily improved on that end of the floor every season and is far and away the Sixers' best wing defender. He's a deflection machine, averaging 1.6 steals a game, putting him in the top 20 in the NBA. When his shot is falling close to his career rate (35 percent), he's a nice piece to have.
 
I was a proponent of The Process. With that said, Sam Hinkie's ideas weren't perfect. A group of super young, raw players benefits from having a solid veteran or two out there. That's not to say guys like Gerald Henderson are world beaters, but it's certainly better than having a guy like Isaiah Canaan out there.
 
Hinkie deserves all the credit in the world for drafting prospects like Embiid, putting the Sixers in a position to draft Simmons and also unearthing a player like Covington from the D-League. What Bryan Colangelo does with the bigs will largely define his tenure with the Sixers. For now, the future looks bright.