Colangelo: Sixers hopeful new 'process' will yield championship

It's from one process to the next for the Philadelphia 76ers.

The franchise trusted general manager Sam Hinkie's process for three years, before giving up on it and calling in the royal family of hoops.

With Jerry Colangelo serving as an advisor, and his son Bryan hired as team president and GM, the Sixers have made several offseason moves.

It's conceivable they'll bounce back from the past few down years - including last season's historically futile campaign - but the elder Colangelo wants everyone to temper their expectations, for now.

"I'm sure that everyone should have optimism," he told Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com on Friday. "But there's a word I've always used over the years about optimism. It should be guarded optimism because things take time.

"When you're building teams - and I've had the privilege of doing that quite a few times in my career - you're adding pieces here and there, and then once in a while you strike out and get that last piece. I think where the Sixers are today is, this is the beginning of that particular process, and that is building what everyone would hope to be a championship team."

There are two players in particular who could be the catalysts in reversing Philly's fortunes: No. 1 overall pick from June's draft, Ben Simmons, is projected to be a stud, while 2014 lottery selection Joel Embiid appears ready to make his NBA debut after being sidelined for the past two years with a foot injury.

The 76ers now have a better supporting cast than what they've trotted out lately, and really, you'd think they have nowhere to go but up after accumulating a 47-199 record (.191 winning percentage) over the past three campaigns.

Time to trust The New Process.