BOSTON — The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers are expected to be the future of the Eastern Conference, as both teams are stocked with young talent and smart head coaches.
Philadelphia has been “Trusting the Process” for the past four seasons, as they have been picking at the top of the NBA Draft thanks to a lackluster on-court product. The 76ers’ process landed them a glut of young talent in the draft, including Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric and Markelle Fultz.
The Celtics, on the other hand, brought in head coach Brad Stevens with the intent to not tank, but to rebuild while competing in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics’ rebuild was buoyed by a 2013 trade with the Brooklyn Nets that netted them three first-round draft picks and the right to swap first-round picks in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Boston also expedited its rebuild by signing Al Horford, Gordon Hayward and trading for Kyrie Irving, putting them ahead of the young Sixers on the march toward conference supremacy.
76ers head coach Brett Brown knows that Boston is set up for long-term success as one of the NBA’s best teams, and looks to them as a model for Philly’s rebuild.
“You know it’s funny, I’m always looking at the Celtics over my shoulder,” Brown said Thursday at TD Garden. “I’m always aware, and we as an organization very much respect them, and they’re a few years ahead of us in their version of a rebuild. When you see Gordon (Hayward) go down to start the year, you really wonder how it’s all going to play out, and I think that Jayson (Tatum) has come in and played in a very mature way, and you (see) Jaylen (Brown) step up.”
The 76ers are at least a season or two away from being a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference, much like where Boston was when it grabbed the No. 8 seed in the 2015Â playoffs.
Philadelphia’s next step will be to add a veteran star around its youth, like the C’s did with Horford, Hayward and Irving.
Once deemed as a sports shame, “The Process” has started its second phase. Brown and the Philadelphia brass will continue to trust it, with the Celtics showing them the path.
