Why Fans Shouldn't "Trust the Process" 

The Heat won championships, blew it up, started from scratch, and built up to a championship contender again WITHIN the 76ers Process. The Warriors had a dynasty, sucked for a year due to injuries, used that to stock up on young depth, and won ANOTHER championship in an even shorter time.

The issue with “the process” is that the teams that go through it usually are in that position due to team mismanagement. Teams like the Browns and Sixers are just asking fans to give them another chance when it’s more likely they’ll screw it up again.

As a Lions fan I remember Matt Patricia talking about how they aren't gonna to be good right away and give it time to Dan Campbell freaking out and saying we need to be better after inheriting a way worse team than Patricia did.

“They’d take Josh Rosen” I literally spit my drink out lol

Tanking *CAN WORK* but only if you do more than just tank and horde talent through the draft. You have to develop the players you tanked for and get the right coaching and staff to support it.

It worked for the 2016 Cubs, the entire run of the Blackhawks in the mid 00's, the Golden State Warriors were tanking prior to 2012 and thier most recent run were tanking.

Jags tank worked pretty well. So did the Bengals, and the dolphins albeit not how they expected

You can trust the process or not trust the process. But in the end a fan can't do jack about it.

There are a few NHL teams that have tanked: Buffalo, Edmonton and Arizona tanked for Connor McDavid. Pittsburgh notoriously tanked for Mario Lemieux, trading their top players and sending their starting goalie to the AHL so they could lose more games than the (legitimately awful) Devils.

Astros trusted the process from 2006 to 2014. It worked for them.

OKC thunder are doing pretty well. Same with Astros and Orioles in MLB. “Does it ever really work?” Occasionally. And even though the 76ers have never cashed they have also been consistently good in the regular season.

For those unfamiliar, a timeline of the Process: May 26, 2012: The Jrue Holiday/Andre Iguodala led 76ers lose to the KG/Pierce/Allen/Rondo Celtics in Game 7 of the ECSF August 10, 2012: 76ers trade Andre Iguodala for Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson April 18, 2013: 76ers fire HC Doug Collins after a 34-48 season May 10, 2013: 76ers hire Sam Hinkie as GM and President of Basketball Operations August 12, 2013: 76ers hire Brett Brown as HC June 27, 2013: • ⁠76ers select Michael Carter-Williams #11 overall • ⁠76ers trade Jrue Holiday to the Pelicans for Nerlens Noel and a 2014 first round pick June 26, 2014: 76ers select Joel Embiid #3 overall and Jerami Grant #39 overall after a 19-63 season February 19, 2015: 76ers trade ROTY Michael Carter Williams to Bucks for a Lakers first round pick June 25, 2015: 76ers select Jahlil Okafor #3 overall after a 18-64 season December 7, 2015: Jerry Colangelo is “hired” as a special adviser to Chairman of Basketball Operations April 6, 2016: Sam Hinkie steps down as GM and President of Basketball Operations April 10, 2016: Brian Colangelo is “hired” as GM and President of Basketball Operations June 23, 2016: 76ers select Ben Simmons #1 overall after a 10-72 season November 1, 2016: 76ers trade Jerami Grant to OKC for Ersan Ilyasova and a 2020 first round pick June 19, 2017: 76ers trade #3 and #13 pick for #1 overall pick June 22, 2017: 76ers draft Markelle Fultz #1 overall after a 28-54 season May 9, 2018: The 76ers lose in Game 5 of the ECSF to a Celtics team led by a rookie Jayson Tatum and missing its 2 best players with injuries June 7, 2018: Brian Colangelo resigns as GM and President of Basketball Operations after being caught using burner accounts to criticize his players, HC Brett Brown hired as temporary replacement June 21, 2018: 76ers draft Mikal Bridges #10 overall and trade him to Suns for Zhaire Smith September 18, 2018: Elton Brand promoted to GM November 12, 2018: 76ers trade Jerryd Bayless, Dario Saric, Robert Covington and a 2022 second round pick for Jimmy Butler (and Justin Patton) December 31, 2018: Jerry Colangelo steps down as special adviser February 6, 2019: 76ers trade Wilson Chandler, Landry Shamet, Mike Muscala, 2020 first round pick, Detroit 2021 and 2023 second round picks for Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanović, and Mike Scott May 12, 2019: 76ers lose to the Raptors in Game 7 of the ECSF on a 4 bounce buzzerbeater by Kawhi Leonard June 20, 2019: 76ers trade #24 and #33 pick for Matisse Thybulle June 28, 2019: 76ers sign Al Horford to a 4 year/$109 million deal June 30, 2019: 76ers re-sign Tobias Harris to a 5 year/$180 million deal July 1, 2019: 76ers sign/trade Jimmy Butler to the Heat for Josh Richardson July 15, 2019: 76ers extend Ben Simmons for a 5 year/$170 million deal August 23, 2020: 76ers get swept by the Celtics in the First Round August 24, 2020: 76ers fire HC Brett Brown October 1, 2020: 76ers hire Doc Rivers as HC October 28, 2020: 76ers hire Daryl Morey as President of Basketball Operations November 18, 2020: • ⁠76ers draft Tyrese Maxey #21 overall • ⁠November 18, 2020: 76ers trade Josh Richardson and #36 overall pick for Seth Curry • ⁠76ers trade Al Horford, a 2025 protected first round pick and 2020 second round pick for Danny Green, Terrance Ferguson, and Vincent Poirer June 7, 2021: The #1 seed 76ers lose Game 7 of the ECSF to the #5 seed Hawks, after blowing and 18 and 26 point lead in Games 4 and 5 respectively, and Ben Simmons passes up an open dunk in the 4th quarter and shoots 34% from the free throw line October 22, 2021: Ben Simmons sits out the season opener (and as it turns out the rest of the season) for various reasons February 10, 2022: 76ers trade Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and 2 first round picks to the Nets for James Harden (and Paul Millsap) May 12, 2022: 76ers lose Game 6 of the ECSF to the Heat June 23, 2022: 76ers trade Danny Green and #23 pick to Grizzlies for D’Anthony Melton June 30, 2022: • ⁠76ers sign PJ Tucker for 3 years/$33 million • ⁠76ers sign Daniel House for 2 years/$8.5 million July 20, 2022: 76ers re-sign James Harden (who opted out of a $47 million option) for 2 years/$68 million with a player option for the second year February 9, 2023: 76ers trade Matisse Thybulle and a 2023 second round pick to Portland for Jalen McDaniels and a 2029 second round pick May 3, 2023: Joel Embiid wins League MVP May 14, 2023: 76ers blow a 3-2 series lead, Jayson Tatum drops a Game 7 record 51 points, eliminating the 76ers for the 3rd time in 6 years May 16, 2023: 76ers fire HC Doc Rivers May 29, 2023: 76ers hire Nick Nurse as HC June 29, 2023: James Harden opts in to his player option and requests to be traded from the 76ers

The process didn’t work in Philly because it was never allowed to happen to begin with. The moment Silver forced us to fire Hinkie and hire the Colangelos it ended. Hinkie never came close to seeing his plan all the way through and I’ll forever hate Adam Silver for it.

Problem is if you don't draft well it's doesn't work astros and pens are two teams in different sports that drafted well and worked for them

Tanking works, but it requires competent management, and most crucially the ability to hit on not just 1st round picks, but in later rounds as well. Depth wins championships

Damn browns…😂 Perna hit it on the head wit that one…. ROSEN 🤣

14:46 Yeah, Gary Bettman said tanking doesn't exist, I trust him... Would've been fun to go on about the Buffalo Sabres and General Manager Tim Murray who literally traded away anyone who had any hockey ability to tank for McDavid/Eichel or how the Oilers kept getting Number 1 picks. Still loved the video, well done Perna and Will!

If a job tells me to trust the process I know they’re tryna scam me out of 3 years of my life 😂

I think "the process" works when an organization has the right person in charge of the culture and personnel. The Avalanche are a good example of patience paying off. Sakic's first few seasons as the full-time GM were not very good, but the Kroenkes allowed him to play out his plan over the course of several seasons. He has been methodical in his approach to developing young players and surrounding them with complementary veterans. Keeping Jared Bednar in place and establishing consistency in the coaching message also helped. It paid off huge in 2022 and probably would have had a chance of replicating that championship success in '23 if injuries hadn't been a major factor, especially with Landeskog missing the entire season. So my answer would be yes, it does sometimes work.

Winning mentality, even when situations aren't "perfect" > Tanking culture

When the alternative is your team being in sports purgatory where they're just good enough to snag that last wildcard, but not good enough to do anything with it and screwing their draft stock in the process. I'll gladly "Trust the Process" as long as it's properly managed and not tampered with by the league 😁

The depth of talent in the NHL and how far reaching the league is internationally makes it a lot harder to tank any given year. However, the tank for Bedard was bad this year in the NHL. Four teams finished with 60 or fewer points, which hasn't happened in over 20 seasons.

i just discovered this even though its kinda old at this point. im a big nba fan and i loved your commentary on basketball, and i would love to see more of it. having subscribed to you for your football content but seeing the basketball content, you have a natural talent for sports commentary in general, and i’d love to see you branch out to cover at least one other major sport. keep it up🫡

13:25 - Shout out for the NANCY REGAN reference (was that you Perna or Will?)! You almost slipped it past me. LMAO 😂😂😂

this youtuber could be an amchor on espn. His scripts are pure gold and connect with so many people. I love this guy

Brandon, I love your cerebral, well-thought out discussions on some of these subjects. I have really enjoyed your newest content as of late

Sean McDermott of the Bills loves to “trust the process”, which for him apparently means immediately break a 17 year playoff drought, take a step back to draft a franchise QB, develop him to his top 1% potential, then settle into a perennial playoff disappointment. It’s not a bad process exactly, but I am confused if it has a satisfactory endpoint.

tanking definitely works just look at when the Spurs drafted Tim Duncan

NHL teams absolutely do tank. Look at the Oilers during the McDavid and Yakupov seasons. Teams tank, the players do not. But if your team is naturally garbage, there usually isn't much that can be done in terms of wins

As an Astros fan who went through multiple 100 loss seasons I can say yes! The process works.

13:27, I almost died of laughter hearing that. Well done sir.

The Process (the...process, not the player) could have worked if the Sixers hadn't screwed up the most important step: Keeping Jimmy Butler. The whole point of the Process (at least as I saw it) was to create a high quantity shot at getting one or two transformative players. There were going to be busts along the way. The inevitabilty of it was baked into the yield. But management got too loyal to the idea it had to be the players drafted, and not necessarily the stars acquired via trade along the way, that would fulfil the prophecy of the Process. Honestly if the Sixers traded Simmons to court Butler when his contract came up, theres no telling what they might have gotten (he was considered a huge defensive plus at that point, and his terrible shooting was still somewhat overshadowed by his solid ball movement. There was probably a team willing to move something of worth for him). But regarding whether one should "trust" a tank, much of it is about what alternatives there are to be compared to at the time. Is there a single title that could be scraped for like the Rams? Maybe tanking isn't for you. The Sixers were not "one player" away from championship contention when they embarked on the Process. So it seemed like a worthwhile thing to pursue.

"The Process" in Philly never got a chance to play out, so we'll never know if it actually worked. Once Silver forced Bryan Coleangelo on them it was over. He proceeded to squander all of the assets that were built up, did a bunch of bad trades, signed a couple bad contracts, and sent the whole franchise back to into NBA Purgatory. I think not being able to see it all play out is a tragedy.

One thing to note with the Sixers is Embiid sat out 2 seasons (and barely played his 3rd or "rookie year") and Simmons sat out a season. So while they sucked they had all stars just not playing

The thing about tanking is that under the right administration and strategy it can work. The Houston Astros have become a baseball dynasty, that show no sings of stopping.

The reason it worked for teams like the Astros and the O's and not for others is that these teams looked at the whole system, and tore it down to the studs, overhauling everything from training/development to scouting and analysis. Which took a few years to really develop fruit of good teams, but by the time those teams show up, you got a scary good org from top to bottom

The whole trusting the process thing isn't the problem, it's that whole "instead of criticizing us for not having anything to show for all the time and money we've wasted, fans need to trust the process" thing that's the problem lol. Good teams don't have to tell their fans to "trust the process", even when they have bad seasons...

Brandon's gone all Lennie from the GCU in the intro. I dig it! Get him a crown!

Process in Philly almost worked, but they cost themselves at least 2 championships when they chose Ben Simmons over Jimmy Butler.

Lmfao "The browns would fuck up a do-over with complete hindsight". As a Clevelander, this guy gets it.

Sean McDermott used the phrase a lot when he turned the bills around hopefully it works out this year and we win a superbowl!

Love the new transitions and new name! I can't see the cigar lady's mustache one more time 😂

It depends on the front office. Buffalo broke their playoff drought with an exceedingly mediocre team, traded off what had value, and ate the largest dead cap number in NFL history to hard reset their roster so it could be rebuilt around Josh Allen. The Browns basically did the same thing and selected the wrong QB and players with the accumulated draft capital. It really just comes down to how good the teams front office is at talent evaluation.

Brandon "any time I can throw in a Paul Peirce poop joke, I will" Perna

14:47 I was gonna mention why you didn't mention the NHL, but then you reminded us😂😂 and then again, the Buffalo Sabres are the closest examples of "trusting the process" and yet. . .

I 100 percent agree here. This is why I am so quick to roll my eyes at fans who complain about their team being competitive year after year and never having a true losing season and always being in the playoff hunt even without significant post season success. The alternative is far worse than this "mediocrity" you complain about day after day. And it's funny you mention Dallas, because that's the exact fanbase I am talking about. "Waaaa...we should just trade everyone good and tank because we are mediocre." Just so you can be mediocre or worse? Not a great plan.

It’s worked for the O’s!!!

I always appreciate when the Washington Wizards get some coverage! Been a fan since they were Les Boulez. I am really excited for their future. Making good moves. You can see how much the new GM learned while he was with the Thunder.

Seemed to work with Lebron... The second time around lol. The Cavs also did a great job tanking and rebuilding in like 4 years after he left the second time. They had a 50 win season 5 years after he left. Some teams haven't had a 50 win season in decades.

love your content big guy! keep it up teddy brosevelt

I so much enjoy watching your videos. Cracks me up😂

I think some teams rush the process and then act confused when they don't do good

This was well done!❤ Glad i scrolled through and found this one. Hope my Rockets are doing the right thing

2016 browns draft class I can name 4 Corey Coleman, Rashad Higgins, Emmanuel Ogbah, and Cody Kessler

Great video again Brandon! You're keeping me sane, just 43 days to go!!

It was amazing, the sixers nailed how to get top picks. They failed at picking but it's objectively fact they got the picks. As a sixers fan i wouldn't be mad if they did it again. They can't pick that bad again. It's not possible. Ben simmons and fultz are off the board.

The Sixers had some real bad luck with two of their first round picks. Simmons who is a head case and never developed beyond what he was when he came into the league and Markelle Fultz who injured his shoulder and forgot how to shoot the ball. Imagine if both lived up to their expectations.

The two most important factors in winning a championship are luck and an owners willingness to spend money. There's only one franchise I've heard of go all the way while refusing to open their wallets, and that's the Florida Marlins.

I’m 1 min into the video and I can already tell that it’s gonna be a tough watch as a die hard Sixers fan

In Pittsburgh they have 2 one example of each of theses things. For tanking they have the Penguins, who tanked and got 2 generational talents. As for trusting the Process, see the Pirates.

5:55 - you take that back! 🦅😎

As a hardcore NBA fan hearing people call Simmons a bust is so annoying. He literally made all star games. Sure he has since fallen off but he’s not a bust and far from the biggest.

13:07 Quick note, Luguentz Dort wasn't drafted by OKC. He was an undrafted pick that signed a two-way contract with them and looked a lot better than his position said he was.

“Leo would never date a 28 year old” 🤣🤣🤣

The process in Philly managed to secure enough assets to get Embiid, Jimmy Butler, James Harden. Unfortunately we have the worst management in the NBA and the meddling interference of the league.

'The Process' is owner-ese for "I have no fucking idea what I'm doing. I'm literally throwing a spitball and seeing if it'll stick."

Tanking absolutely can work. Just ask the Spurs, Tim Duncan, and the doctors who kept David Robinson out for the majority of one particular season with a "back" "injury."

I think the most famous case where “The Process” actually worked was the Florida Marlins. From 1993-1996, they sucked, and then in 97 they won a championship. They proceeded to get rid of all their good players, sucked from 98-2002, and then won another championship in 2003. Of course it hasn’t worked so well since then, with no winning seasons since 2009. But for a while they got a whole bunch of credit for the “Win, blow it up, build back up, win again” Strat.

As a Browns fan I can tell you when the phrase Trust The Process comes out of a GMs Mouth it is French for I, My Coaches, and everyone on the team should rent not buy our houses, Because they will be gone before the "rebuild" is over.

Trusting the process is actually terrible in baseball if you can’t develop players. The Tigers have been terrible since starting tanking in 2017. The farm system is in abysmal shape and hopefully the pain can end soon with a winning record at least, which the Tigers haven’t had since 2016.

Cleveland closing line🤣

A “process” like Philly doesn’t work for a simple reason. When you’re building a team based off of youth, can you draft well? And can you develop them into the stars you need? Philly whiffed on two of them and signed one to a big deal. The deficiencies were not corrected and now it’s a sad time for Sixers fans cuz the process has ultimately led to them never making a conference final.

Not sure how anyone could say it "didn't work" with the Sixers. Let's look at their records. 2015-16: 10-72. 2 years later 2017-18: 52-30. In just 2 seasons, thx to "The Process" they increased by 42 wins! 2018-19: 51-31. 2019-20: 43-30. 2020-21: 49-23. 2021-22: 51-31. 2022-23: 54-28. That's a damn good streak of minimum .589 ball. Did they win a ship in that time? No. Did "The Process" make for a successful turnaround? Absolutely it did, without question.

Love the Ted Lasso reference 👌

Great analysis Perna. Losing a lot of games and getting high picks is easy. Turning those picks into a winner is not easy. The 76ers tank was a failure to me. They had 4 terrible years and drafted 1 superstar with the picks they got from selling everything off and sucking. And worst of all, with that superstar they've never made the conference finals. They subjected their fans to some of the worst basketball imaginable and ended up right back where they started before blowing it all up, a good playoff team but one who can't get over the hump.

Presti has been doing miracles in OKC for 15+ years! KD is the only obvious pick he made, but drafting Ibaka was a steal and Harden was a great pick too. He finds second round gems too even though they may be older they can play a role and contribute. He gets the right coach and vets for to help young players develop and mature. They are fun to watch because they play hard and compete every game. Presti is just a master at team building. He’s constantly maneuvering to make the team better, he doesn’t let his back get against the wall again ever since KD walked for nothing.

Whoah Maine catching a stray on this vid was not expected

As a Rams fan who grew up through the years where Mike Martz was bad, going through multiple gms an coach's like fisher going 2-14 in 2008 an 1-15 in 09 an multiple losing seasons before mcvay an les snead I think we'll bounce back an be fine compared to most teams that haven't proven they were a playoff team or won a sb saying "trust the process " when they haven't even put in the work to earn that trust

The Os did. i didn't think it would work, but shows what i know

Tanking is sort of necessary in the NBA also if you’re not the Lakers and can bring in the next big FA that comes along. You either draft in the lottery to get the next generational player or you’re stuck in NBA purgatory drafting in the teens and getting bounced in the first round every year.

The Sacramento Kings tanked for nearly two decades. And look at them now: half decent playoff team.

"The process will take time, 11 years. Coincidentally I retire in ten years."

You are absolutely right, there are more than 32 great players drafted every year and they are spread out, there are so many draft flops, tanking never works and becoming a disgrace on purpose for Caleb Williams is not worth it, just look how it turned out for Johnny Football. You don't know if the fourth pick is going to outplay the thirtieth pick, it's more important to get the positions you need which does require draft capital however it's not that much or that expensive, there's also always the second and third round.

NE, with Belichick, went to the SB 9 times with, in effect, no 1st round draft picks for 20 years. And the pundits says Belichick is a bad GM.

the 76ers have been trusting the process since 2013, and look where it’s got them ☠️

"The Browns are so fucking inept they'd be the only team to mess up their own do-over." 2017 - Browns trade #12 pick to Houston. Houston selects Deshaun Watson. 2022 - Watson has 22 sexual misconduct lawsuits facing him. Browns trade 3 1st round picks for Watson and sign him to a fully guaranteed deal that pisses off the other 31 GMs to no end

You can throw the Toronto Maple Leafs into that conversation as well. All of that High-End Talent = 1 playoff series win against a fading dynasty.

Absolutely love what you said about hockey Brandon

The Blackhawks just pulled off one of the biggest tanks in recent memory, landing a generational talent in Connor Bedard, while also stealing elite sniper Oliver Moore at 19th overall with one of the best prospect pools in the league on top of that. And this is only coming less than a decade removed from the end of Chicago's dynasty in 2015. Tanking does happen in the NHL, and it's working out really well for Chicago so far.

Perna expanding his universe to basketball? Yes please! It’s the start of TGS eclipsing ESPN.

as an Eagles fan, if he runs the Commanders like the he does the Sixers i’m GREAT SO GREAT 😭

It makes perfect sense and id like to believe my Giants just crossed that bridge to competent fron office staff 11:33

Being a Baltimore Orioles fan has been weird. We have essentially tanked ever since 2016, but ownership and team management haven't really promised us that there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I think they also assumed that we'd be bad forever 😅 but this season has been a joy and we don't have expectations that we'll actually win the World Series, we're just enjoying the ride

that paul pierce clip was rough. damn. in the white uniform too

Tanking works in baseball due to the farm system. Do you have top-end talent you don't want to leave the team before your are done tanking? Don't promote them to the majors so they don't have time served and can't get off their rookie contract. Stack up that farm system with top picks, and if you have positional overlap in your talent, you can trade the excess talent to fill the holes you still have.

Nfl tanking is kind of different in that teams very rarely do it for multiple years, it's usually a team that starts the season out very bad and gives up midway to try to get one specific qb

I've already pur on my orange ans blue glasses for the year Perna and the only way to take them off is to be disappointed by the team which i feel may or may not happen but right now we are undefeated baby.

Sizers were on the right track before the NBA intervened and made them fire their own gm and replace him with colangelo.

As a Browns fan it's gotten to the point where I cheer for teams if they have former Browns on them because it finally gives them a chance to succeed. I pity Joe Thomas for basically wasting a Hall of Fame career. I'd be interested to know which Hall of Famers have the lowest winning percentage and total wins in games they started.

I mean, the Browns would've probably fucked up both Lamar and Josh's development if they got drafted there with Hue Jackson as their coach.