Philadelphia 76ers: A full timeline of the failed “Process” and where it went wrong

Fear The Beard (Especially Daryl Morey) [2022-2023] 

Following a trade request where Nets All-Star guard and former MVP James Harden wanted to be moved to Philly, both Harden and Simmons got their wish as Philly got Harden and Nets forward Paul Millsap for Simmons, big man Andre Drummond, sharpshooter guard Seth Curry and two first-round picks.

The new star duo of Harden and Embiid helped the team finish out the season with another 50-plus win season, with 51-31, and locked up the fourth seed. Embiid once again had a near-MVP season, losing out to Jokic once again.

The 76ers once again breezed past the first round, beating out Toronto in six, and were set to face the former 76er Butler and his new Heat squad. However, Embiid suffered a right orbital fracture and a mild concussion in the closeout Game 6 win, and without his presence, Philly found themselves down 0-2 against the Heat.

Though he helped the 76ers win back-to-back games in games three and four, the Heat ultimately closed them out in six. After winning the series, Butler was seen in the tunnel saying “Tobias Harris over me?” in a nod to the 2019 free agency where Brand and the front office elected to keep Harris over Butler.

Headed into the 2022-23 season, many speculated whether this season was finally the year that Embiid won MVP. After a dominant season where he led the league in points per game with 33 and 10 rebounds a night, Embiid finally won the coveted MVP trophy. However, the regular season success did not translate over to the postseason, as he averaged 10 fewer points and shot significantly worse from both the field and three.

Maxey, Harris, and Harden were able to help out the scoring load as they easily swept Brooklyn in a repeat of the 2019 playoffs. Embiid was once again haunted by a postseason injury and was ruled out of game one against the Celtics in the second round. Harden carried the 76ers to a crucial Game 1 win with 45 points as well and Embiid made his return in Game 2.

The team would go up 3-2 on their rivals and it seemed like they would finally make it to the Conference Finals, especially when superstar forward Jayson Tatum missed 14 out of 15 shots prior to the fourth quarter. However, the 76ers were unable to capitalize on his shooting woes and Tatum made them pay, hitting three crucial threes to force a Game 7.

In a do-or-die game seven to finally go to the Conference Finals, both teams exchanged blows as they headed into halftime with the Cs up 55-52. Then, Tatum exploded. After a lob-sided third quarter where the Celtics outscored Philly 33-10, Tatum finished the game with 51 points, a far cry from his Game 6 performance. On the other side, Embiid and Harden combined for a mere 24 points, with Harden scoring only nine and both shooting badly. Though Embiid finally captured his long-sought MVP trophy, the team once again lost in the second round and Rivers was fired.

Former Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was hired on in the offseason as the third head coach in The Process as the organization looks to finally make a deep postseason run. However, it all seemed to fall apart temporarily whenever Harden publicly slammed Morey and called him a “liar” and said that he “would never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.” As of now, Harden still wants out and has called the relationship “beyond repair.”

That’s the timeline of The Process so far. Years and years of tanking for draft picks and then trading them away. They’ve become an organization where stars are disgruntled and leave and they have yet to make it out the second round. The closing chapter right now is all about Harden and how the front office plays it out and the next chapter will open whenever the next star comes.