2017-present: Contending
We all know what happened last season. Fultz missed almost the whole season with ‘scapular imbalance’, Embiid was named an all-star, Simmons was Rookie of the Year, and the Sixers won 16 consecutive games to finish the season with a 52-30 record. For the first time in nine seasons as a fan, they broke the 20-games-above-.500 plateau. They would run through the Heat in five games before being humbled by the Celtics in five games.
Bryan Colangelo stepped down as general manager after the ‘burnergate’ fiasco, and Brown filled in until Elton Brand was named general manager.
With their final lottery pick of the ‘process’ era, the Sixers selected and traded Mikal Bridges to the Suns for Zhaire Smith and a future unprotected first round pick via the Heat. When holding a press conference about the draft selections, Brown claimed that the Sixers were ‘star hunting‘ — looking to acquire an established star-level player using the potential lottery positioning of the unprotected first round draft pick.
This past season, the Sixers finally cashed in those assets from the ‘process’ era. They acquired disgruntled star Jimmy Butler from the Timberwolves for Covington, Saric and Jerryd Bayless. When it became apparent that Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Jimmy Butler would not be enough, Brand and Brown pulled the trigger on another trade — acquiring Tobias Harris from the Clippers for Landry Shamet and the unprotected Heat pick.
Yes, the Sixers fell short of what felt like a floor for this team — advancing to the Conference Finals. Had Kawhi Leonard not struck the lottery with his fading jumper from the corner taking four bounces on the rim before falling, the Sixers might have gotten to the Conference Finals. Based on how the Eastern Conference Finals series just played out, the Sixers may have even gotten to the Finals with this group. That was always the goal. To put the team in position to compete for a championship.
Nothing is guaranteed in sports, the best you can do is put yourself in position to capitalize on opportunities to win championships. Whatever the result, the bottom line was that we had expectations to compete for a chance to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy as a city, as a franchise, as a fanbase. We did not have any expectations at all from 2008 to 2012. The feeling of disappointment that we have experienced over the last two weeks is exactly why the 16 losses of 30 or more points, the revolving door of below-NBA-caliber players, the losing and the failures were all worth it.
While the season is over and we’re still grieving the loss, the Sixers were in a position to contend for a title, a position they hadn’t been in since 2001. That’s why, in the end, no matter what happens with Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris this summer, the process was always worth it.