Sixers fans have had a pretty good day. Earlier on Monday, the trade that will allow them to move up to No. 1 in the 2017 Draft and select Washington guard Markelle Fultz went through. Fultz will join a core of Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, and Ben Simmons that could end up being really good. For some Philly fans, this means The Process got a major win.
For the uninitiated, The Process was the years-long brain child of former general manager Sam Hinkie that looked to increase the team’s chances of acquiring a superstar through means that were rather polarizing. For a large portion of Sixers fans — those who believed in Hinkie’s vision and were behind the slogan “Trust The Process” — Monday was a day of jubilation. It was a day to look back on those who laughed at The Process. It was the a day known as #RTArmageddon.
The concept, which was the brain child of the Sixers podcast Rights To Ricky Sanchez, was that Philly fans would highlight the “bad takes” that people had about The Process. Here were some of the highlights.
I only have one contribution I'd like to make to the #RTArmageddon from Embiid/Saric draft night. I was off by 6 days. pic.twitter.com/x7hbrWpwr8
— Matthew James (@mkil1390) June 19, 2017
#RTArmageddon This man once recommended that you "slather" mayonnaise on a cheesesteak in an article. https://t.co/632fBk5iv4
— shamus (@shamus_clancy) June 19, 2017
Perhaps the biggest #RTArmageddon take yet https://t.co/uXuGISIqdB
— Mason (@masonsaysthings) June 19, 2017
Both @smallterp and @DickJerardi wanted the Sixers to build around Thad Young and Evan Turner #RTArmageddon pic.twitter.com/3fW0Jm8SyF
— ham (@HamSinkie) June 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/notthefakeian/status/876860702211928064
https://twitter.com/PHLSportsNation/status/876825966949085185
#RTArmageddon if only pic.twitter.com/1Da2bIUnZQ
— A (@aidan_34_powers) June 19, 2017
Remember when we were right? #RTArmageddon pic.twitter.com/4zkn12FpMT
— Arcane Charge (@ArcaneCharge27) June 19, 2017
But per usual the star of this Sixers-related thing was Embiid, who decided to get in on the exercise by making fun of a comment from earlier in the day by Bucks GM Wes Edens.
That's cute… #TrustTheProcess https://t.co/LArLqaBXFT
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) June 19, 2017
Embiid then swiped at a Philadelphia radio host for a take he had about Saric.
#RTArmaggedon Dario is NEVER coming over https://t.co/YYNm18IouZ
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) June 19, 2017
So there are really two ways of looking at #RTArmageddon — one is that it’s a silly, harmless victory lap for Sixers fans who wanted the chance to acknowledge that The Process led to them getting a pretty solid core of players. The other is that this is way premature, and considering how Embiid and Simmons have both had to miss entire seasons due to injuries, there’s no real guarantee that everything works out for Philly. Plus there’s the possibility that Fultz doesn’t live up to the hype, even if that seems like a bit of a stretch.
Eventually, history will determine if this was a good idea or if Philly fans took a victory lap too soon. Until then, it’s hard to argue that #RTArmageddon wasn’t really fun … well, unless your old take on The Process got called out.