4. 2012 — Andrew, we hardly knew ye
To paraphrase singer Don McLean, The Day the Sixers Died arrived on August 10, 2012.
That was the date the 76ers announced that as part of a four-way trade with the Lakers, Denver Nuggets and Orlando Magic, they had acquired center Andrew Bynum from Los Angeles. They also picked up shooting guard Jason Richardson from the Magic but he was merely a side-note.
To many Sixers fans, it was 1982 all over again. They had a dominant big man in the middle for the first time since Moses Malone, and it was time to think of another run at the championship.
That spring they had beaten No. 1 seed Chicago and then lost in seven tough games to a far-more experienced Boston Celtics club in the Eastern Conference semifinals, so optimism was high.
The trade was met with glee as Bynum was feted at the National Constitution Center. Thousands of fans cheered him, as well as new owner Joshua Harris. If anyone had a problem with the trade, they were not speaking up at the time.
However, there were more white flags than in an Indy car race about the state of Bynum’s knees. Orlando had refused to do a straight Dwight Howard for Bynum trade because of concern their physicians had about them, which is why Philly was brought in.
Yes, Bynum had played virtually a full season for the Lakers, averaging 18.7 points and 11 rebounds, but he passed up playing in the 2012 Olympics because of the state of his knees, instead flying to Germany for some experimental treatment.
On Oct. 1, the 76ers announced he had a bruised knee. We know how that routine goes when it comes to the Sixers medical staff, of course he missed the entire season. His knees were so bad he damaged them further bowling.
Oh, and Richardson, although a great team guy, also suffered from injuries and played only 66 games in three years for the Sixers before retiring.
Amazingly, the trade looks even worse now that we know how everyone involved with it has done.
For basically nothing, the Sixers gave away (and we do mean gave) future NBA Final MVP Andre Iguodala, forward Maurice Harkless, a starter in both Orlando and Portland, the double-double machine in center Nikola Vucevic and a first-round pick.
At the end of the 2012-13 season, Sam Hinkie was named the new general manager and all remnants of the staff who engineered the Bynum trade were gone within a year.
The Process had now begun.