Brand must prioritize what’s next for 76ers after loss

TORONTO – The Process is dead. Long live the process.

Asked where The Process is at this stage of his career, 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid — dejected from losing to Toronto 92-90 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Sunday — said, “I don’t give a damn about The Process.”

Quite the admission from Embiid, who came to embody the Sixers’ divisive rebuild set forth by former general manager Sam Hinkie. Where do they go from here? GM Elton Brand has proved himself in his first season in the job after the Bryan Colangelo Twitter disgrace that resulted in him losing his job. Brand acquired Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris in trades during the season, but the work gets more difficult, starting with what happens to coach Brett Brown.

Ownership is on record saying the Sixers have the talent to beat anyone in the East, and Brand said in April that the goal was to get deeper in the playoffs than last season, which was a secondround exit, the same as this season.

Does Brown take the fall for that? Brown had his playoff starting five — Embiid, Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris and J.J. Redick — for 10 regular-season games. He had to coach three iterations of 2018-19 Sixers: the team he had at a training camp, the team he had after the Sixers traded for Butler in November and the team he had when the Sixers acquired Harris from the Clippers in February.

A case can be made for bringing Brown back. But if the Sixers don’t think he’s the one to get them to the next level, that’s their prerogative, but it shouldn’t be based on a Game 7 road result.

The Sixers need to resolve that then focus on their roster. Jimmy Butler likely will become a free agent, and Tobias Harris will be a free agent. Do those two want to come back, and at what price? Giving up what they did in trades to get those two indicates they are willing to spend to keep both. A third starter, J.J. Redick, is also a free agent along with Mike Scott, Amir Johnson, Greg Monroe and Boban Marjanovic. Because Philadelphia has several young players on team-friendly contracts, the Sixers have money to spend in free agency.

In the draft, the Sixers have one firstround and three second-round picks.

It’s one of the more intriguing offseason storylines: How do the Sixers take the next step of their development? How do they become a championship contender?

It’s a process, that’s for sure, and it’s in Elton Brand’s hands.