FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Sports

How Jerry Colangelo Can Save the Sixers from Themselves

When the Philadelphia 76ers hired Jerry Colangelo, they signaled that Sam Hinkie's "process" might be coming to an end. That might spell relief for the franchise's long-suffering fans.
Photo by Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

On Monday night, an already bad Philadelphia 76ers team appeared to reach new depths: facing the San Antonio Spurs at home in the Center, they lost by 51 points. Of course, you might say, the Spurs are really good. At 18-4, San Antonio is currently the second-best team in the league, led by the productivity of Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili, who together, according to Box Score Geeks, account for about 67 percent of the Spurs' wins.

Advertisement

That's not who the Sixers faced, however. Of the Spurs' core four, only Parker played on Monday—and he was on the court for just 17 minutes. No, the Sixers lost by 51 points to the San Antonio second string. They're that awful. Again.

While overall the Sixers are being outscored by a comparatively less atrocious 12.3 points per game this season, that's still historically bad; only the 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks and the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats have been worse.

READ MORE: Roast the Sixers—But for the Right Reasons

On top of that, no team in NBA history has been so bad for so long. In 2013-14, the Sixers lost 63 games while being outscored by 10.5 points per game. In 2014-15, they lost 64 games while by being outscored by 9.0 points per game. Should the Sixers finish the season with a 12.3 point differential, they will cap off the worst three-year stretch in league history.

The root cause behind all this sucking, as you might have heard, is the Process, general manager Sam Hinkie's plan to win (eventually) by losing (a lot). The NBA gives more draft lottery balls to the league's worst teams, thereby giving some teams an incentive to race to the bottom and thereby improve their draft position. The Process is, apparently, doing this year after year after year.

From a certain perspective, this strategy is brilliant. The Process turns a hard job (winning consistently in a professional sports league) into a fantastically simple one (just lose). The most difficult part is convincing other people, namely ownership, to go along with the plan. On Monday, it seemed like Hinkie couldn't even get that right anymore, as the Sixers brought on Jerry Colangelo, the head of the best basketball team on the planet in Team USA, to the team as a special adviser. Colangelo has extensive experience working in the NBA, and none of it involves "the process."

Advertisement

Don't be sad, Sam Hinkie. Think of the wins. Photo by Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

While no team has followed through on this philosophy quite so enthusiastically as the Sixers did, some have come close. Two other franchises in NBA history in fact have managed to get outscored by an average of nine points per game for three consecutive years: the Los Angeles Clippers, from 1986-87 to 1988-89, and the Chicago Bulls, from 1998-99 to 2000-01. Looking at these two teams gives us some idea of what Philadelphia fans could expect if Hinkie were to follow the Process to the end.

In both cases, the league rewarded the losing franchise with high draft picks. The Clippers were able to draft Reggie Williams (No. 4 pick in 1987), Danny Manning (No. 1 in 1988), and Danny Ferry (No. 2 in 1989). After Ferry was traded (along with Williams) for Ron Harper and a pick that became Loy Vaught, the Clippers managed to build a 45-win team in 1991-92, but success was short-lived. The team would not reach 45 wins again until 2005-06, and it didn't reach 50 wins until Chris Paul arrived, in 2012-13 (he was two years old when the Clippers began their "process").

As for the Bulls, their years in the "process" yielded Elton Brand (No. 1 pick in 1999), Marcus Fizer (No. 4 in 2000), and Eddy Curry (No. 4 in 2001). Brand was traded for Tyson Chandler, the No. 2 pick in 2001, with whom the Bulls managed to win 47 games in 2004-05. That was the best this team would do until 2010-11; when a team led by Derrick Rose won 62 games (Rose was 10 years old when the Bulls began their "process").

Advertisement

This Sixers fan sign is supported by the numbers. Photo by Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

It turns out that NBA history has not been kind to big losers. In 2013, I noted that since 1984-85, nearly 90 percent of teams that win 25 or fewer games are still not contenders five years later (contenders meaning teams that win 54 or more games in a season). This suggests that "tanking," as a strategy, is unlikely to lead to a future full of winning—and that's because it relies on the draft.

Simply put, the NBA draft is not a very reliable way to acquire talent. Sure, we can remember teams that have drafted players like Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, and LeBron James and found success. But we seem to forget that teams have also used number one picks to acquire Michael Olowokandi, Kwame Brown, Andrew Bargnani, and Anthony Bennett.

On draft night, every top pick appears to be a future superstar, but draft position doesn't do a very good job of predicting per-minute NBA productivity. There is some statistical correlation between what a player does in college and what he does in the NBA—specifically, NCAA players who rebound and shoot well tend to do the same as pros—but the relationship is far from perfect. There are many examples of players who excelled in college (Michael Beasley would be a recent one) who did not produce at a high level in the NBA.

And this is why the addition of Colangelo to the Sixers front office, as a special advisor, might help the team. He has a track record of acquiring talent through every means at a NBA team's disposal, and having those players pay off. In 1993, his Phoenix Suns finished with the best record in the NBA, led by Charles Barkley (acquired via trade), Dan Majerle (drafted with the 14th pick), Cedric Ceballos (drafted with a 48th pick), Danny Ainge (acquired in free agency), and Kevin Johnson (acquired via trade).

Maybe the Sixers will follow this example, and maybe "the process" has come to an end. A sad and awful end, but at least—and finally, for Sixer fans—an end.