All week on Philly Sports Talk on CSN, we examine how our teams got to this point and where they are in the rebuilding process.
On Tuesday, Sixers Insider Jessica Camerato takes a look at the state of the Sixers.
How did we get here?
By now, you all know about "The Process." The Sixers' last competitive season was five years ago when they reached the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Then came the Andrew Bynum disaster, and the following season they went 34-48 under Doug Collins.
Enter Sam Hinkie and start The Process.
The Sixers entered a three-year period of dismal basketball with a revolving door of players coached by Brett Brown that culminated in a 47-199 record. During that time, they stockpiled injured players, draft-and-stash prospects and a handful of future picks through transactions made by Hinkie.
Hinkie stepped down from his role with a memorable 13-page resignation letter last April. The Sixers hired Bryan Colangelo as president of basketball operations, marking a new chapter in the organization.
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The 2016-17 season was the first glimpse into the potential of "The Process." They finished 28-54, including a 10-5 month of January. Joel Embiid made his NBA debut after two years. While he was limited to 31 games because of (another) injury, he quickly proved he can dominate when healthy. Dario Saric came to the NBA two years after being drafted in 2014 and emerged as a Rookie-of-the-Year candidate after Embiid was shut down for the season. The Sixers landed the number one pick in the 2016 draft and are waiting on the debut of Ben Simmons, who suffered a Jones fracture in training camp. This season, the Sixers established legitimate pieces for their future, rather than players who could be on the summer league team.
Are the Sixers on the right path back to prosperity?
The Sixers are on the right path back to prosperity, and it starts this offseason. They have the third pick in the 2017 draft, with the possibilities of adding another young talent or packaging the pick to land a more established player. The Sixers have flexibility with plenty of cap space - which they could use to acquire a key free agent. The team has maintained they will not rush into making a trade just for the sake of it - Jahlil Okafor's future with the Sixers is still uncertain - or spending money just because it's available. The Sixers showed flashes of potential last season. If they gather the right pieces this summer and - a big "and" - they stay healthy, the Sixers will continue to move toward an upward trend of rebuilding with the longer-term goals (this isn't happening overnight) of becoming a contender again.
Coming Wednesday: A look at the Phillies' rebuild
