Basketball
If “The Process” isn’t over for the Philadelphia 76ers, it’s certainly on shaky ground.
They’ve gone from championship contender to “Tankathon” hopefuls in the race for a top draft pick. As jarring as this may seem, this franchise made some easy-to-spot mistakes.
On the surface, adding Paul George seemed like a great idea. But check out the numbers. The Sixers signed George to a four-year, $212 million max contract. A closer look reveals he has a player option for $56 million in the fourth year. George will be 37 years old. It seems like an easy option.
A lack of foresight made this deal doomed from the start. Did president of basketball operations Daryl Morey ever wonder why the Clippers were willing to let George walk? Did he even think about a possible physical decline and how bad of a contract this could be?
Morey can’t change the past so now they’re dealing with a player in George who, when healthy this season, struggled to get much separation. Simply put, he looked old, struggling through a season that saw him put up 16.2 points per game.
Playing ability aside, the team now has to worry about the physical health of George. He was shut down for the season after getting injections in his left adductor muscle and left knee. Now, let that $212 million deal marinate in your mind.
Morey fell victim to his usual tendency of building teams based off names or familiarity. It’s the reason he doubled down on going older while the top teams show otherwise. At one point, the Sixers gave legitimate minutes to 38-year-old Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon, who is 36.
The Sixers were actually selling fans on this plan to compete with dynamic squads like the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers. But perhaps the biggest misstep is the mishandling of Joel Embiid, the player who is the living embodiment of “The Process”.
It started in October when Embiid expressed that his days of playing back-to-backs were probably over. A franchise player who physically can’t be available consistently. How does that sound? The reality is the team should have shut him down at that moment. But, they continued to sell false hope, while Embiid battled through what clearly were limitations with his left knee.
After continually misleading fans about the extent of the situation, in February, the Sixers finally decided to call it a season for Embiid. At this point, the team still doesn’t know what the solution is.
By delaying the prudent moves of sitting Embiid and George, the Sixers are in danger of losing their first-round pick. It goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it falls outside the top six. Right now they’re tied with the Brooklyn Nets for fifth-best lottery odds with 13 games left in the season.
What a waste of a season it would be if the Sixers lost their pick. Either way, this could be the start of some down years. The facts reveal what’s coming in the future. Basketball common sense would support a pivot to a new era, one built on a solid plan and competent roster construction. As long as Morey is in charge, there’s no telling which direction this will go.
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