Progress of the Process: Fights, Wins, Losses, and A Shining New Face

The Philadelphia 76ers have been on a wild ride, and their rebuilding process has taken some twists and turns the past few weeks. Let’s take a look.

Nov 9, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; The Philadelphia 76ers logo on the warm up shirt of center Jahlil Okafor (not pictured) prior to action against the Chicago Bulls at Wells Fargo Center. The Bulls won 111-88. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Progress of the Process will be reoccurring posts giving an updated climate of the team. These posts will compare what has happened recently with the Sixers to the plan that GM & President Sam Hinkie has laid out, and the goal is to give a more timely review of these events and how it relates to The Process.

Rollercoasters Have Nothing On The Wild Ride That Is The Philadelphia 76ers

My last post about this team gave a macro view of how the Sixers have been doing compared to their plan with the key question essentially asked, “Are we better today than we were yesterday?” but the current answers have been mixed. This is not a bad thing right now, especially because the process espouses patience as the most important virtue to seeing this through, but the results do need to be scrutinized periodically to see how we’re tracking to the overall plan.

The worst thing that we can do right now is be in either extreme in regards to the process, either (1) the process is a godsend and is infallible, or (2) Sam Hinkie is destroying the very notion of competitive basketball to swindle Philadelphians and NBA fans alike. The truth, like most things in life, is found in the middle.

Hinkie is sacrificing every win today for the opportunity for wins tomorrow in the most extreme manner. The smartest basketball minds agree that this is an ingenious way to build for a championship, but this should not shield Hinkie from criticism and I’m sure he will be the first to tell you that open discussion on the process is the best thing to do in order to get the best product on the table.

In that case, in here discussion is opened to take a detailed look at the team. What has happened recently to the Sixers that merit review? Let’s dig in!

Next: Okafor Gets Into A Fight

Dec 1, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Roy Hibbert (17) battles for the ball on the floor against Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) and forward Jerami Grant (39) and guard Isaiah Canaan (0) during the first half at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers won 103-91. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Jahlil Okafor Gets Into A Fight After Playing the Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics give Philadelphia fans another reason to hate them, right? Not only are the Celtics a rival of the Sixers, but one fan acted insufferable and goaded Jahlil into physically confronting them (to be fair, this is my biased narrative; I swear I’ll be even-keeled from now on!). For some context, earlier in the night the Sixers lost to the Celtics in a close game where the Sixers saw a late lead disappear. At the time, the Sixers were still searching for their first win, 0-16, and were close to trying the worst start in NBA history. Frustrations were mounting.

At the game, an unruly fan heckled and taunted Jahlil and eventually followed Jahlil and teammate Christian Wood when they went out in Boston after the game. The incident escalated after a group of women declined to give the Sixer teammates their phone numbers, with the fight happening outside of the nightclub Storyville. Two videos were taken, which are still debated to be the same or different fights, of which a person who appears to be Jahlil punches out another person, likely the unruly Celtics fan. The fight is currently under investigation by officials.

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Let’s get this out of the way: This is not a good look for the team and Jahlil, to which Jahlil acknowledged by saying how embarrassed he is by the situation. Not only did Jahlil’s image take a hit, but the Sixers as an organization came under fire after the news came out, giving more ammunition for detractors to rail against the process. “Did creating a losing culture make Okafor lash out?” “Where is the veteran presence to show the young players how to conduct themselves?”

While what happened was a PR disaster, the response by Jahlil and the team was swift and contrite. Jahlil tweeted out an apology shortly after the videos came out.

The team also suspended Jahlil after the second video was released, likely punishing him for getting into the fight. You could argue that both of these were obvious responses to what happened, but the Sixers took it further by reportedly providing Jahlil with a bodyguard to accompany him when he goes out. This is a great solution because it doesn’t restrict a player like a curfew would, and it is also the first time I have seen a team care enough their player to give them added protection. Because you never know what can happen especially with young men (alcohol, partying, fist fights are part of the experience), having someone to make sure things don’t get too far is key. More teams should be doing this with their players!

Next: The Standings Aren't Lying

Dec 7, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown consoles guard T.J. McConnell (12) on the bench during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at Wells Fargo Center. The Spurs won 119-68. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Record Speaks For Itself

Try as they might, the Sixers took their lumps and could not produce a win. These are young players who do not yet have chemistry (in addition to their overall youth, injuries are hurting the team) and are trying their best to win night after night, with very little to show. The season reached a low point when the 76ers tied the 2009-10 New Jersey Nets for the worst start in NBA history, starting 0-18.

It wasn’t until the Los Angeles Lakers came to town, a few nights after Kobe Bryant’s announcement that this will be his last season playing in the NBA, that the Sixers were able to get their win. Even after Kobe started hot on his night, he shot them out of the game after the first quarter. The Sixers were led by Robert Covington‘s stellar two-way play, hitting big shots and playing tight defense on Kobe.

It was a perfect mix of celebration and relief for the team; relief that the team was able to get their first win while also able to celebrate the end of Kobe’s era, which thankfully took the spotlight away from the first point.  Unfortunately the good feelings didn’t last for long, with Jahlil then getting suspended for fighting in Boston. In the ensuing games, Jahlil missed opportunities to go up against the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets, teams with fellow rookies Kristaps Porzingis and Emmanuel Mudiay, with both losses damning in their own way.

The Knicks ended up crushing the Sixers on a second night of a back-to-back, and then the Sixers could not hold onto their late lead against the Nuggets. In Jahlil’s first game back, the San Antonio Spurs also crushed the Sixers by 51 points followed by a team-wide dud against fellow cellar dwellers, the Brooklyn Nets. In terms of on-court play, none of these games really ended up showing progress for the Sixers. Losing big to New York and San Antonio showed we have a long way to go to be consistently competitive, the Nuggets and Nets games showed that we still need to get a killer instinct to close teams out, and the Lakers win hurt our chances for the top pick while getting the Lakers’ pick further into protected status. The on-court product honestly looks messy right now, so patience is the key to enduring this spell.

Next: Mr. Colangelo, Come On Down

Dec 7, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie (L) listens as owner Joshua Harris (M) introduces Jerry Colangelo (R) as special advisor before a game against the San Antonio Spurs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Faces of the Front Office

In a surprise press conference the Philadelphia 76ers announced that Jerry Colangelo will be joining the Sixers’ front office as Chairman of Basketball Operations. Success has followed Colangelo, most prominently with rebuilding the brand of Team USA and their international dominance, but he has also dabbled with coaching, owning several franchises, and building teams from scratch. His main role will be as a consultant, while also acting as a mentor to Sam Hinkie.

There are huge positives in bringing such a brilliant basketball mind into the organization to help with The Process, with the biggest among them as being the point person for any communication about the team. His main point when talking about his role were to be the person who the media speaks with, to articulate the best way he can the status of the team on any issues put in front of him. It sounds like he wants fans and other executives to know the reasoning behind decisions that the Sixers take and how much he supports them.  This is important for the team, since Brett Brown has usually been the only person of note to chat extensively and constantly with the media on the team.

Hinkie likes to be behind closed doors and will only come out on big events, such as during the lottery or end-of-season press conferences. Having Colangelo speak about the team eases the workload on Coach Brown, especially because Colangelo is very knowledgeable and can articulate points well. He commands respect behind the mic. The other party Colangelo communicates with are agents. Sam Hinkie loves lopsided team-favorable deals, hurting his relationship with agents, who could shepard their clients away from Philadelphia. Colangelo’s network can ease tensions against the organization for agents and players to come to the Sixers.

Colangelo said all of the right things during his press conference and his meetings with the media since he came on board. He said he is eager to learn, he does understand and support the process, and that Sam Hinkie will have the final say in all personnel decisions. But what if he changes his mind?

Next: Jerami Grant's Play Shows Promise For Philadelphia 76ers

Soon after Colangelo joined the Sixers, it was reported that NBA owners lobbied to get him there. If this report is true and Colangelo’s hiring was not an organic one by the team, this could pose problems for supporters of the process, namely Sam Hinkie. Many NBA owners have repeatedly trashed on the Sixers for tanking so blatantly, saying it hurts the image of the league and is affected league-wide revenue, so if the hire came from them, Colangelo must have some obligation to change the process to appease the owners. This is also indicated by team owner Josh Harris, who wanted to speed up The Process with Colangelo’s help.

Hinkie’s greatest ally was the time to properly implement his dream. If he did not hit with a superstar in the draft, he was willing to wait another year with a poor record to draft again (and again, and again). Putting Colangelo in the mix complicates matters because he puts a schedule on things instead of the open-endedness that Hinkie had. Since Colangelo also reports directly to Josh Harris, Hinkie’s power is reduced; even though it has been said that Hinkie has the final word on decisions, the person with the real power is Harris, where Colangelo can exert his influence.

Something so exciting quickly turns complicated when taking a deeper dive into the details. This season and the coming offseason are when we will see key moves being made and who really controls the team. I doubt Colangelo will make moves until after that time, seeing as he knows the value of the assets that we have and will want to maximize the return on them (by draft, trades, etc.). In an ideal world Sam and Jerry will work closely to build a team contending for the next decade but many things have to go the Sixers’ way to do so.