'The Process' Begins Tonight
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Process begins tonight, figuratively not literally.
Literally, The Process began when the Philadelphia 76ers hired Sam Hinkie. But metaphorically speaking, The Process -- as in the 7'2" energetic and entertaining center Joel Embiid -- will make his NBA debut on Wednesday night.
Hinkie, who resigned in April, selected Embiid with the third overall pick in the 2014. After missing the first two seasons to start his career after back-to-back foot surgeries, Embiid is going to play meaningful professional basketball in Philadelphia.
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"I think a lot about what I went through and how it prepared me to be a better man," Embiid said in a feature by Lee Jenkins for SI.com. "I really feel like I'm The Process, like The Process is about me."
When Hinkie began The Process, a process which resulted in a 47-199 record over the past three seasons, he divided the fanbase. Embiid is a Process truster.
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"He understands the lottery, the salary cap and the patience required to turn assets into stars," Jenkins wrote of Embiid. "You can guess which camp he joined."
Hinkie is no longer around, but Embiid, Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, Nerlens Noel, and Jahlil Okafor are.
"There should be a moment of silence tonight," Process truster and host of the Rights To Ricky Sanchez podcast Spike Eskin said on 94WIP's Midday Show. There should be a memorial. There should be a two-minute arena vision salute to the guy who came in here and had the guts to say this is the only way to do it.
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"He is the reason that Joel Embiid -- who if he stays healthy changes the NBA -- is here."