The Process is over. Or perhaps it’s just beginning. Armed with consecutive first-overall picks in point forward Ben Simmons and guard Markelle Fultz, the new-look Sixers debuted new faces and new lineups as the team seeks its first playoff berth since the 2012-2013 season.
The Simmons-led Blue Team lost in overtime of the three-quarter scrimmage, 124-122. But the Sixers took home a win: no injuries.
Below is a look at new Sixers from the college game (Fultz), the international stage (Furkan Korkmaz), and veteran free agency (J.J. Reddick and Amir Johnson, along with the newly brought-on Emeka Okafor and Kris Humphries).
Point forward Ben Simmons slams home a dunk in the Sixers' intrasquad pre-preseason tilt at the Palestra. Simmons, who redshirted his first season with the team and who has not played competitive basketball since declaring for the 2016 draft from LSU, showed off almost everything but an outside shot. There were his trademark no-look passes. There were steals leading to coast-to-coast dunks. There were ambidextrous layups and finishes. There were dreamshakes in the post.
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Simmons' fellow backcourt facilitator and first-overall pick Markelle Fultz will look to be the Sixers' second top pick in the last five years to actually play his first season. (Of his predecessors Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, and Ben Simmons, only Okafor played his rookie year.)
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A challenge the Sixers face this season is reconciling the roles of Simmons and Fultz, both ball-dominant in-the-paint players who are used to being the primary facilator. After playing opposite each other for two quarters, Fultz joined Simmons on Blue Team for a glimpse into whether they can play next to each other. "They sure can coexist," head coach Brett Brown said. "I know that they really want to make it work."
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Simmons goes against power forward Dario Saric in the paint. The point forward will play primary facilitator and guard fours like Saric, Coach Brett Brown said at a preseason meeting with the media. General sentiment from Brown: dude is a monster. "He put it into another gear," Brown said of Simmons' scrimmage performance. "His breakaway speed, his ability to get to the rim with his size, or find others, is elite."
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The Sixers' 2016 breakout star Joel Embiid – self-dubbed "The Process" – greets fans at the Palestra prior to the Blue-White scrimmage. Embiid, who was held out of the latter part of last season and most of this summer after knee surgery, returned to five-on-five practice last week.
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Rookie guard Furkan Korkmaz drives past Sixers starting wing Robert Covington for a layup. The 20-year-old Korkmaz comes to the Sixers fresh from the 2017 EuroBasket, where he represented Turkey as a key bench contributor. Korkmaz, a 2016 first-round draft pick, rejoins his former Anadolu Efes teammate Dario Saric on the Sixers, bringing outside shooting as well deceptive athleticism and length, according to Coach Brett Brown. Also: see below for veteran JJ Reddick's impressions on Korkmaz's Blue-White performance.
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New to the team is veteran JJ Reddick. The perimeter sniper and career 42 percent 3-point shooter boosts a Sixers shooting unit that shot 34 percent from long range and represented the bottom of the league's offensive efficiency rating.
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Veteran Amir Johnson scores on a layup. The stretch-four joins the Sixers from a Boston Celtics team that made the Eastern Conference finals, bringing the Sixers both rim protection and floor spacing.
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The Sixers' 2015 top pick Jahlil Okafor looks to be the odd man out in a crowded frontcourt of Embiid, Simmons, Saric, and Johnson. The classic back-to-the-basket style Okafor, who dropped weight this offseason to shift to a more mobile play style, showed off an outside shot and a three-pointer during the Blue-White scrimmage. It is unclear what role he will have on this 2017-2018 Sixers squad.
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Newly signed Sixers Jacob Pullen (left), Emeka Okafor (center), and Kris Humphries (right).
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