Philadelphia 76ers From Slow Cooker To Microwave

Apr 10, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown goes over a play with his team during the third quarter of the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Wells Fargo Center. The Milwaukee Bucks won 109-108 in OT. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

Sixers grew teamwork in the process

That’s just the history. Now for the rest of the story. Until now, the only excitement for the Philadelphia 76ers fans for the past three years was the NBA draft. Yes, the team traded players, and absorbed contracts of the overpaid players from other teams. But the moves drove towards one objective: the NBA draft. On draft night, former general manager had no equal. He would select a player known to be coveted by another NBA team, merely to trade that player at a premium and end up with his own coveted player plus draft picks. It was a fascinating and entertaining display of complete command of a draft by any professional sports team.

But it was a crock pot. It merely continued the slow cooking in our own juices. We knew that players drafted would not be making an immediate impact. Nerlens Noel had his knee injured, Joel Embiid was injured in his foot – a dangerous place for a big basketball center to undergo a surgical knife, Dario Saric was playing internationally, and even players drafted in the second round or even signed to the team as undrafted free agents were hoped to give a few productive minutes off the bench.

With the exception of Michael Carter Williams (who was himself eventually traded) and Jahlil Okafor, the impact of the Hinkie drafts were long term in nature.

Slow Cooker.

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But with the arrival of Bryan Colangelo, the team has already changed their off-season objectives. The team has gone from the slow cooker to the microwave. But there is a trade off. You know that microwaves simply heat rapidly. There is no true “cooking” with that process. Slow cooking, by it’s nature, allows seasonings to combine, succulent juices to baste the meal, preserving the true taste while giving a perfect blending. These Sixers, young and inexperienced, have been allowed to learn, grow, and combine their learning experiences together. Of all teams in the NBA, they are perhaps the most unified, as they have endured what few other NBA players have. But school is over, and the Philadelphia 76ers have graduated this off-season

Let’s discuss how those objectives will change:

Next: Player Retention