Less then 100 miles separate the Nets and 76ers, but though they are close geographically, they couldn’t be further apart philosophically.
Trust the process versus build the culture. Tank or develop. Whereas the Sixers turned tanking into an art form — one that has not only worked for them, but also has been so widely emulated it forced the NBA to tweak the lottery — the Nets are showing the league their way can work, too.
“For the most part players didn’t really respect the fact of tanking for so many years and the way they did it. Obviously you saw the result,” Jared Dudley said. “If you’re a young team and [you can get] a Zion [Williamson] or a player like Anthony Davis or Kyrie [Irving], it’s a once-in-a-generation player and you know you’re not going to be good, it’s understandable. I just think it’s the three or four years.”
It was a long three years to trust former general manager Sam Hinkie’s process, with the Sixers going 47-199. But they drafted Joel Embiid third overall in 2014 and Ben Simmons No. 1 two years later, taking an uptick to 28-54 after Hinkie and the team parted ways and reaching a critical mass — and the playoffs — in Years 5 and 6.
The Nets didn’t have the benefit of their own picks because former GM Billy King traded away three first-round picks and the swap rights to a fourth to Boston. Nor did they have the luxury of tanking. Once they started down the road preaching culture, they couldn’t switch streams after an 8-18 start this season.
“Let’s be honest, Sean Marks and Kenny Atkinson have told [the media] and told us to build,” Dudley said of the current GM and coach. “To be able to do a 360 on that you lose credibility around the league, you lose credibility especially with the big-time free-agent class.”
“When we were 8-18, there was no talk of tanking,” Atkinson said. “There wasn’t any, ‘Hey, should we start heading’ … none of that. It helped everybody focus. We didn’t have to worry about any of that other [noise]. … I really think it helped us focus. That was part of the reason that we succeeded.”
The Nets may have taken a step toward proving to the rest of the NBA that their way can succeed as well.
“It’s certainly possible,” Spencer Dinwiddie said. “I’m biased because I’m part of this organization and I’ve been able to be a part of the up-trend and loved every second of it.
“But maybe we’ve opened some minds into building a team other than just trying to get a high draft pick or getting Kevin Durant.”
The 76ers have used both drafting high picks and acquiring veteran superstars to build their terrific starting five. Since 2013, they’ve had seven lottery picks, including two No. 1s and a No. 3. Then they traded for four-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, dealt for Tobias Harris and signed one of history’s greatest shooters in JJ Redick.
Despite the fact the Nets could chase big free agents such as Durant or Irving this summer, up until now they’ve been the opposite of the 76ers. Bereft of high picks, the Nets’ character is as a collection of either overlooked or underrated players with chips on their shoulders and something to prove.
“I feel like a lot of teams, a lot of GMs, they’ll see what Sean did here and they’ll like it,” Rondae Hollis-Jefferson said. “They’ll like what they did, because we’re a bunch of guys working hard, trying to better ourselves, our teammates. It’s awesome to watch.”
Atkinson talked about building a rivalry with Philadelphia based on geography. It might as well hinge on philosophy as well.
“Isn’t that the greatest thing about the NBA? They did it one way and we did it the other,” Atkinson said. “That’s the beauty of the NBA. There’s a lot of different ways to skin a cat. We took our particular situation and took another approach, and here we are playing against each other. It’s great.”