The downside of treating players/picks solely as assets is that eventually you need those assets to produce.

The Process has always been great as a futures market, and I’d definitely want Hinkie to manage my financial portfolio. But while a certain component of basketball team development is asset management, a bigger part is player development. And the Sixers have been an utter failure there in the Process era.

Embiid may be a generational talent or he can be the next Greg Oden. Simmons may be great but he hasn’t played. Noel is gone. Okafor might be a bust. MCW is gone and not great.

So while Sixers fans definitely have a future that could look bright, they also need to see that the on-court product has been terrible, the teams physical staff seems intent on ending careers, and they’ve sacrificed have half a decade on a hunch that only pays off if the Sixers have a dynasty. They’ve made NBA success binary (championship/win lottery night or bust) when the truth is far more nuanced.

Contrast that to the Warriors, Spurs, Raptors or Celtics who have had consistent success without resorting to gimmicks. I know which teams I’d rather align with.