Trust "The Process"

By Jarrett Felix

A new season is a clean slate. Everyone starts from the same place. Hope springs eternal. Of course for the Sixers, hope hasn’t quite made it eternal. It’s capped out at a couple decades recently. And when Ben Simmons got injured before the season even began (darn you Lebron James and your superstar workouts!), my hope spring was down to months. I can’t get excited about anything without it breaking. I’m basically like that girl in finding Nemo who gets the fish and gets so amped about getting a fish that she shakes up the fish until the fish dies. I’m sorry Andrew Bynum. I’m sorry Nerlens. I’m sorry Joel. And I’m sorry Ben.

But despite the sadness, I couldn’t help going out to the fish store and looking at the fish that were swimming around, even if I didn’t want to buy one. Because maybe one day I would want to buy one, you know? And maybe this time I won’t kill it. OK, this metaphor is breaking down. I’m basically saying I still watched the Sixers because I can’t help it. They are my team and even if they stink, I still will inevitably find things to be excited about. And hopefully those things that I’m excited about don’t get injured.  

Flash to October 26th, 2016. Enter Joel Embiid. We drafted him on June 26th, 2014. Since we drafted him I paid rent for the first time. I ran a marathon. I got engaged. I ran another marathon. I got to the point in my life where I need to shave like once every three days. I’ve grown up. The whole fabric of my life has changed. A year after Joel Embiid was drafted, I interviewed Clayton Murphy. Before Embiid even played a game, Clayton Murphy won an Olympic medal?!

But I never fully gave up. Sometimes when I would talk to my friends I would say, “Yeah, looks like he’s another Greg Oden.” Or maybe I’d say, “Looks like we should have taken Aaron Gordon.” But I didn’t believe any of that crap. You think I want a dude with two first names instead of our Cameroonian man-child? No way. I watched the workout videos. I saw him dunking on dudes that were basically versions of myself in 20 years. I saw him dunking threw his legs. I saw him dunking donuts into his Shirley Temples and having to overcome weight issue rumors. And I loved it all. I believed the hype. I embraced the hype. Heck, I embraced the hype more than I embraced “Hype” by Drake, one of my favorite jams of summer ’16. And also fall ’16.

When I sat down to watch Joel play his first game last night, I was so giddy. I don’t mean giddy as an expression. This wasn’t some metaphorical or exaggerated giddiness. This was literal, authentic giddiness. I watched Joel come down the court and take a beautiful turn-around jumper from the free throw line and I giggled hard core. Like imagine a three-year-old child who is being tickled by one of their parents. That’s pretty much what happened to me, but instead of carefully utilized fingers it was carefully utilized footwork.

The dude looked like he could provide a legitimate rim protecting presence for us. I think the stat sheet only showed two blocks, but there was definitely some altering and intimidation going on. But I also really respected his hustle and his heart. Like after Gerald Henderson coughed up the ball at the end of the game, Embiid sprinted back up the court for a chase down block and nearly gave us another opportunity to go win the game. Then he almost got an and-1 that almost gave us another opportunity again!

In that moment I felt like a proud father. I’m not actually a father, but I imagine it’s what a proud father would feel like. Like imagine you had a son and he was walking down the street. The wind picked up and some guy dropped some trash on the ground near your son. He could easily just walk by the trash. It’s not his fault that dude couldn’t pick up that trash. It’s not his fault there were some winds in the air. But he goes back, picks up the trash and throws it in the trash can. Then you look at your son and smile. You think “I’m so proud of this boy … No … This man.” But you don’t say it out loud. You think he would find it weird. It’s a weird moment to feel proud of your son for I guess, but it’s just how you feel. So instead, you just say, “How about we grab some Rita’s Water Ice? It’s on me.” And then you enjoy some nice Rita’s Water Ice.

That’s basically exactly how I felt in that moment.

Of course, the Sixers still lost. Which is fine, I guess. But we looked like a team. We had a reasonably OK point guard. We had some dudes who could kinda shoot. We saw some flashes from our young guys. Nik Stauskas did some stuff. Turns out Hollis Thompson is still on the team.


OK, fine there wasn’t that much to be excited about. But this is all I have! Indulge me!

3 comments:

  1. Great piece! Better than the majority of stuff posted on theringer. This team is two years away from being a playoff team.

    @etrain91 1.) are you PrOkafor or NOkafor? 2.) What value does Nerlens still have? 3.) Who are some compatible trade partners? 4.) Is Holmes already better than Noel? 4.) Do you trade the Lakers pick this summer? 5.) Will Mike Trout sign here? Sixers.) Does Philadelphia win Basketball, Football, and Baseball in 2018 or 2019 behind Embiid, Carson, and Trout and then go on to be a dynasty in all three sports for the next 10 years?
    -Joel Embiid
    P.S. As the Boston golden age comes to an end, the Philadelphia golden age begins.

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  2. I've heard Nerlens for Tyreke Evans or Langston Galloway to the Pelicans... Also read a 3-team trade which worked financially between Philly, Phoenix, and Houston: Houston gets Noel, Suns get Clint Capela and KJ McDaniels, and 76ers get Archie Goodwin and Brandon Knight. As for Okafor, I have heard offers such as Okafor for Kyle O'Quinn & Future 1st to Knicks... Okafor for McDermott & Valentine to Bulls... and Okafor for LaVine OR Dunn to Minnesota... That said, I don't think Okafor will hold that value, given his baggage and rapidly diminishing role.

    No, Holmes is not better than Noel... No, the Lakers don't trade their (late lottery) pick this summer... No, Mike Trout does not sign to crummy Philadelphia. EVER.

    And no, I'm not eTrain, but I do write for the blog once in a while. Thought you'd appreciate the trade partners I have heard for the two bigs. Enjoy

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  3. 1.) Nerlens for Evans or Galloway is incredibly weak
    2.) The Okafor for Lavine or Dunn I'd take
    3.) I disagree with the hole baggage thing. The kid has a great attitude and work ethic. He, unlike Noel, wants to be part of the Sixers. I do think Okafor will struggle defensively again this year since he's coming off an injury and isn't in shape and didn't get to work on his defense in the off season. Defense is a matter of effort and like Harden last year he was our only viable scorer and had to work so hard on the offensive end that he had to rest on the defensive end. I think Okafor will eventually thrive and defense is a lot easier to fix than a guy with stone hands and the ugliest jumper ever. I know the advanced stats love Noel but similar to Clint Eastwood's character in Trouble with the Curve you can just tell Okafor will eventually be better.
    3.)Holmes has better offensive game than Nerlens especially in the P&R and his defense improves each game.
    4.) We are Mike Trout's childhood team. During his free agency, we will out spend him with our Comcast money and our young players will all be brought up by then. Already have pitching, a catcher, CF, 3B, SS, 1B, the core is there just need a superstar.
    -Joel Embiid

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