The 76ers Player Development department looks promising… it’s just a shame the same people are running the show

The NBA Draft Lottery is coming. The Philadelphia 76ers have a great chance at landing a top pick assuming Jared McCain can work some Duke magic and get the ping pong balls to go our way. That being said, it’s probably a good time to look at the current roster and see what development we have from the younger guys on the current roster.

All things considered, the 76ers may have accidentally stumbled into a player development system that actually works.

Before you turn your phone off or close your computer screen, just hear me out.

I am well aware that it’s hard to get too excited when the same trio of Josh Harris, Daryl Morey, and Elton Brand—yes, still—are the ones driving this thing off a cliff and trying to rebuild it mid-air.

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The back half of the 2024 season looked like a basketball time machine to The Process era—except instead of Tony Wroten and Hollis Thompson, we got Ricky Council IV and Justin Edwards.

Nick Nurse was rolling out lineups that looked like they came from the Delaware Blue Coats’ group chat, and you know what? Some of the kids actually showed out.

Start with pre-injury Jared McCain.

The rookie guard came out flamethrowing, dropping 34 in his first start and averaging over 15 points per game before a torn meniscus shut him down. Confident. Efficient. A spark plug. McCain looked like the kind of dude fans want to root for—not someone who’s here on a two-way flyer with one foot in Turkey.

Then there’s Adem Bona.

He was clunky to start, sure, but once Joel Embiid shut it down for the year, Bona got minutes—and made the most of them. He averaged 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds over the final 15 games. That’s called progress. That’s called development. Two things this franchise hasn’t done well since 2011.

My guy Justin Edwards…

And the pipeline didn’t stop there. Philly native Justin Edwards got the G League-to-NBA call-up and earned himself a real spot in the rotation. Ricky Council IV went from undrafted project to a legit bench piece with a four-year deal. Marcus Bagley and Isaiah Mobley got a look late in the year. These aren’t lottery picks or “process saviors.” They’re guys who actually got better. That’s refreshing.

So what’s changed?

Mike Longobardi, the Blue Coats’ head coach, has turned Delaware into something resembling a functional developmental system. He’s working with Jameer Nelson, who seems to be one of the few people in this front office who understands that identifying and growing talent might be more important than chasing overpriced veterans every summer.

The Blue Coats went 14-20, but nobody cares about the win column in the G League. This is about proving guys can translate to real NBA minutes. And suddenly, the 76ers are doing that.

Here’s the always necessary 76ers Rub…

While the kids are alright, the adults in charge… are the same ones who gave Al Horford $97 million, maxed Tobias Harris, handed Ben Simmons a five-year deal before he forgot how to shoot, and hired Doc Rivers.

Elton Brand’s resume is a graveyard of bad contracts. Daryl Morey’s tenure so far has included a tampering fine, a burned bridge with James Harden, and a roster still completely dependent on a perpetually-injured MVP. Josh Harris is somewhere in the background, trying to decide whether to sell off the Sixers or buy another soccer team.

So yes, the 76ers might be figuring out how to develop players. But let’s not pretend this is some grand vision from the top. This feels more like the right people (Nurse, Jameer, Longobardi) doing good work in spite of the front office, not because of it.

That’s the frustrating part.

The young guys gave us flashes. McCain can play. Bona has upside. Council IV is a gamer. But until there’s a real vision and actual accountability in the front office, it’s hard to believe this team is building anything more than another treadmill season.

Hope is cheap. Execution is expensive. And in Philly, we’ve seen this script before.

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