For Elton Brand’s Sixers, one word should sum up their present and future: continuity | Mike Sielski

Over those hard years of his tenure as the 76ers’ general manager, over those early seasons fraught with questions about the wisdom and ethics of “The Process,” Sam Hinkie pulled off a neat trick. He changed the language of pro basketball around here.

You could call it intelligent and analytical. You could call it corporate and soulless. But the change was undeniable, and with it, Hinkie initiated a rethinking of how to construct a championship-level team. Tanking wasn’t a vulgarity anymore. It was a logical, market-incentivized strategy. Players became assets, and optionality and flexibility became more than desirable. They became paramount, because they were necessary. The Sixers had been stuck thigh-deep in the NBA morass, among its middling teams, for too long. They needed to climb their way out, clean themselves off, and start fresh.

Now, after an era of upheaval caused by bad decisions, bizarre developments, and bad luck; after consecutive seasons of 50-plus victories; and after an excruciating second-round-series loss to the Raptors on an unforgettable and fortunate shot by a great player in a Game 7, the Sixers ought to re-introduce a new word to any discussion about their future: continuity. If they can achieve it, they should, because the time is right for it, and they could use it.

Consider the Sixers themselves first. From Hinkie’s resignation to Bryan Colangelo’s Twitter scandal to Elton Brand’s still-brief term as GM, from their fruitless attempts to wait out Markelle Fultz’s mystifying shooting problems and shoehorn him into the lineup to the two giant trades for Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, this franchise has changed its look, and has been forced to change its look, more than an aging movie star with a Botox addiction. Brand had gambled that the Sixers, with Butler and Harris but less overall depth on the roster, could overcome all that disruption, creative and otherwise, through the sheer collective talent of the team’s starting five.

“We beat some elite teams when we were all together,” he said in April, before the Sixers’ final regular-season game. “So I’m not that concerned. But it’s a real question, and it does take time to gel and get some cohesion, for sure. I think the talent will trump cohesion against other teams.”

He was almost right, and if not for Kawhi Leonard’s magnificence and Joel Embiid’s gastroenteritis, he likely would have been. With Embiid, Butler, Harris, Ben Simmons, and JJ Redick starting fewer than a dozen games as a unit before the playoffs began, the Sixers still could have — and, one could argue, should have — reached the Eastern Conference Finals, at least. In the choice between doing all they can to retain that core and breaking it up and beginning anew again — each of which comes with its own risks and sacrifices — they’re better off banking that the stars they already have simply need more time together.

They have an opportunity now, and by all appearances, they’re willing to give Butler and Harris max contracts — both at a dollar figure, $190 million, that no other team can match — in the name of seizing it. The approach is even informing their evaluations and decision-making ahead of the June 20 NBA draft. All things being equal, they won’t select a prospect they’ll have to wait on for very long. The time for waiting has passed.

“We have kind of discussed wanting a more mature profile,” said Vince Rozman, the Sixers’ vice president of player development, “a guy who we might need to lean on in that seventh, eighth, or ninth spot on the roster, especially if we get everybody with this current roster construction back. We’re going to need low-money guys who can step in and help. So that’s definitely a factor. I don’t want to say we’re going to discount the other profiles too much, but it’s definitely a piece of the puzzle.”

Now, consider the rest of the conference. What will the East look like in 2019-20? There’s no way yet to know. Are the Celtics trading for Anthony Davis? Is Leonard heading to the West Coast — to the Clippers, to the Lakers, anywhere but back to Toronto? What if he does come back to the Raptors? What changes will the Bucks make? How will the Knicks use their oodles of salary-cap space? Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, D’Angelo Russell — all of them are likely to be out there and available. Will the Brooklyn Nets, stocked with rising young players, become movers and shakers on the free-agent and trade markets?

In that environment, with so much reshaping and reshuffling ahead, the act of not acting, of allowing a talented team to become more familiar and comfortable with each other, could prove a decisive advantage. No, nothing would be guaranteed if the Sixers simply shelled out all that money for Butler and Harris, drafted an upperclassman who could play right away, and let it ride. Butler, having gotten his big payday, might live up to his reputation as a bleep-stirrer. Simmons might never develop a jump shot. Embiid might get hurt again. But nothing is ever guaranteed. For once, the conditions are set up for the Sixers to change as little about themselves as possible. For once, standing pat is a chance worth taking. In the most basic basketball language of all, it’s time for the Sixers to go for it.