In a hot and fast world, the Philadelphia 76ers have taken a slow and low approach to team building. What does barbecue have to do with basketball?
Now that the NBA free agent frenzy has mostly passed, its officially summer in the NBA. One of the hallmarks of summer for many of us, including myself, is barbecue. Everyone aspiring pit-master, like every NBA General Manager has their own techniques.
Some GM’s and ownership groups are in perpetual win now mode, they do not have time to build slowly through the draft and use free agency and trades to build a roster. In grilling parlance they would be your gas grill, burgers and dogs guys. Unless you are in Miami, LA or Boston this typically leads to mediocre results.
I heard the grill calling my name .... I had to respond .. #itsallinthetechnique pic.twitter.com/v5XptxERFA
— Derrick Gunn (@RealDGunn) March 5, 2017
Some good food can be made by simple grilling, but its not really barbecue. Sometimes some good char is all you need though to raise the excitement level. Los Angeles tried the hot and fast technique last summer by adding free agents like Timofe Mozgov and Luol Deng. New York attempted the same with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. Poor quality ingredients thrown together over a hot fire do not a great team make.
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And listen some fan bases, like some people, just want that quick satisfaction. There is nothing wrong with wanting short term results. Just know that those results are unlikely to live up to something that takes years to build.
Slow and Low
Other teams take a more patient approach, building through the draft and waiting for just the right time to organically compete for championships.
Six hours of slow cooking/smoking at 200F°, wood charcoal, cherry wood & apple wood. #Kamadojoe #BBQ #saucy #smoky #meats #moist pic.twitter.com/ncKKlarpad
— Be the guy to beat (@AP3XFLOW) July 4, 2017
This requires time, patience, technique and risk. Meats that lend themselves to longer cook times with more smoke tend to be less forgiving to mistakes. There is risk in a 5-15 hour cook but if you get it right…. WOW. The results are out of this world. If you’ve never truly had barbecue from a smoker, you haven’t lived my friend.
7.5 hours of smoking created this bad boy brisket... salt, pepper and cayenne rub, smoked over whisky oak chips...… https://t.co/o4GNYXZu2u pic.twitter.com/VjwqceGHjy
— Jamie Spafford (@JamieSpafford) July 18, 2017
Building through the draft with a young core takes time and luck. Oklahoma city built something very special with Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and James Harden. Ultimately the ingredients themselves, while amazing on their own, did not blend well together. But the exercise and patience did pay off with a trip to the NBA finals.
Barbecue versus Grilling
Here is a quick reference for cook types. If you want to know if you are grilling or barbecuing check below:
| Cooking type | Barbecue | Grilling |
| Charcoal | Yes | Yes |
| Gas | No | Yes |
| Hardwood smoke | Yes | No |
| temperature | <300 | >400 |
| Time | >3hrs | <1hr |
What types of ingredients work for each cooking type?
| Ingredient | Barbecue | Grilling |
| Hot Dogs | No | Yes |
| Hamburgers | no | Yes |
| Vegetables | No | Yes |
| Chicken | Yes | Yes |
| Fish | No | Yes |
| Steak | No | Yes |
| Ribs | Yes | No |
| Pork Shoulder | Yes | No |
| Brisket | Yes | No |
NBA Barbecue versus Grilling
| Technique | Barbecue | Grilling |
| Free Agency | No | Yes |
| Draft | Yes | No |
| Trades | Maybe | Yes |
| Timeframe | 3+ years | 1 year |
Philadelphia 76ers Process
The Philadelphia 76ers have been slow smoking their franchise since 2013. They have used this time to build a world class facility in which to cook up the ingredients. They have selected the type of ingredients that require patience and time to develop. These ingredients have shown to have a minuscule margin of error, but their upside is immense.
Sam Hinkie decided early on he was using hardwood, with a long timeline at low temperature. Each draft pick was selected with the long view in mind. There were no quick fix draft picks, each would take years to develop. Some of the ingredients took two years to arrive after they were ordered (Dario Saric). Yes the connective tissue may break down. (in barbecue that is a very good thing, in sports, not so much)
Bryan Colangelo recognized that a huge part of the fan base was expecting short term results. They were hungry and wanted to win now. He added some short term veteran free agents to hold the fans over until the high quality ingredients were finished developing. But he maintained the long view. Even when he traded Nerlens Noel it was for a 23-year-old and future draft picks.
Next: 5 worst parts of The Process
So our franchise has selected the slow and low route. We still haven’t eaten, and trust me I am hungry. But I can smell something really amazing cooking.