The Process ended more than four years ago, but don’t tell the national media. They’re coming out in droves right now to shred the Sixers’ eventful but underwhelming recent epoch, which resulted in three different general managers getting a crack at the job in the span of 52 months, plus a special rudderless stretch where the head coach doubled as the GM.

Here’s a take to digest:

For Greenberg to say the Process was designed to “revolutionize the sport” is bizarre. Nobody ever said that about the tank, which is all it was. It was committed and well-executed, but it was merely a tank. It wasn’t something new or groundbreaking, but it was very dedicated and is treated as some sort of fabled era because Sam Hinkie was an eccentric dude who attracted some sycophantic goofball supporters.

Hinkie missed on some picks and the powers that be grew frustrated with the tank, leading to his resignation in April of 2016. Say what you want about the guy, but he left a bountiful CORNUCOPIA of assets for the next regime, which included multiple first round picks, a future star in Joel Embiid, and role players like Robert Covington and Dario Saric. Bryan Colangelo and Elton Brand (with Colangelos lieutenants) blew through those assets, and now here we are in 2020, with a couple of second-round exits to show for it.

The only way to judge the Process is by labeling it incomplete or N/A, since the guy who started it never finished it. There’s no telling whether Hinkire would have been successful if given license to see his plan to fulfillment, so it is what it is. Oh well. More teams will tank in the future, to the displeasure of Mike Greenberg and other national media types.