Should We Still Trust The Process?

On October 26th 2016, “The Process” officially started. Joel Embiid made his highly anticipated NBA debut and recorded 20 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks in just 25 minutes of play. That same year, the 76ers drafted Ben Simmons with the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. 

With two star rookies, the future was looking bright in Philadelphia. In just a couple years, the Sixers went from being the worst team of all time, to a playoff lock for many seasons to come. Sixers fans were finally put out of their misery after years of suffering it would seem, only they weren’t. 

Little did we know that one of, if not the worst heartbreak in Sixers history was yet to come. That’s right, I’m talking about the notorious double bounce. The Sixers can’t seem to make it out of the second round to save their lives. In 2020 against the Boston Celtics, the Sixers played them without Ben Simmons. It is very clear that the Sixers are a much better team with Simmons on the roster. Unfortunately, he is not cut out to play NBA basketball in Philadelphia. 

Us Philly fans will always hold players accountable when they aren’t playing well enough. Ben Simmons is way too fragile and insecure to handle the criticism. Simmons is well known for his annual summer videos of his workouts. It is so frustrating as Sixers fans seeing how good of a player he can really be. 

Most Sixers fans hold Simmons accountable for the loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs last season. In my opinion, Harris is more to blame for the loss than Simmons is. That being said, Simmons still needs to go. There is no reason that the Sixers should want him back on the team. This off-season he has been outright disrespectful to the players and the rest of the organization. The Sixers asking price remains way too high, it’s like they think he has the value of a God. This seemingly never ending story that is Ben Simmons is yet another painful thing that Sixers fans have to endure.

While us fans have been trusting the process for years, it is a popular opinion that it is time to stop. It isn’t clear yet if the Sixers could be contenders or not this year, but some progress in the Ben Simmons story is necessary either way. Whether he returns due to the fines he is facing or he is traded away, one of the two needs to be done ASAP. All we can do is hope that the process will prevail, but that hope in Sixers fans is slowly dying out.