The Flyers’ version of ‘The Process,’ A.J. Brown’s rough week, and other thoughts

First and final thoughts …

Over the 21 months between the 2014 NBA draft and his resignation as the 76ers’ general manager, Sam Hinkie once in a while would smile a knowing smile to signal how satisfied he was with his decision to select Joel Embiid.

As there would be throughout his career with the Sixers, there was so much mystery and so many questions around Embiid then. When would he finally suit up? What would he look like once he did? Would his performance justify a two-year wait for him to recover from his back, foot, and knee injuries? Hinkie, of course, was one of the few people who had an inside look at Embiid during practices and could speak with him about basketball or pretty much anything else. And one day he confessed, after watching one of Embiid’s workouts, to telling him, You’re going to make me look very smart someday.

» READ MORE: Danny Brière and the Flyers have to get the timing right on hiring a new coach.

Drafting Embiid turned out to be the smartest thing the Sixers did during The Process, and the irony of their attempt to rebuild was that they pulled off the most difficult task — acquiring a generational player — and pretty much failed everywhere else. They got themselves a superstar but couldn’t construct a team around him that was good enough either to complement his strengths or overcome his weaknesses.

Now here we are, more than a decade later, and another general manager in charge of another rebuilding Philadelphia team isn’t bothering to measure his praise for his franchise’s centerpiece. No, Danny Brière was anything but circumspect Saturday when talking about Matvei Michkov and the player he might yet be. After scoring 26 goals and 63 points in 80 games as a rookie — “I didn’t think he’d score even 20 goals this year,” Brière said — Michkov showed up to his exit interview with Brière with a list of offseason and career goals for himself, and Brière couldn’t get over it.

“I’ve been around a few superstars, and he’s got that mindset,” Brière said. “He came in. He has a detailed plan of all the things he wants to do. I was actually shocked by how prepared he was for his meeting. He knew exactly what he needed to do and how he wants to conduct himself. He’s a special athlete, person. He sees it — extremely intelligent. He’s got a different mind. That’s part of the reason that makes him who he is. There’s something special about him.”

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid’s Sixers career will likely end in disappointment. Was it fair to expect anything different?

Every Philadelphia sports fan has the right to feel more than a little jaded about the Flyers and their optimism about their future. The organization is closing in on the 50th anniversary of its second and most recent Stanley Cup, and the Sixers’ 12-year run of empty promises and unfulfilled expectations since Hinkie initiated The Process has been enough to make anyone skeptical about a similar effort.

Here’s the thing, though: The Flyers did the hard part, just like Hinkie did with Embiid. They took a risk and drafted Michkov, and so far, the evidence suggests that the risk will pay off. They have Travis Konecny and a couple of other potential cornerstones. They have a chance to hire a head coach who can be here a while. And they have 11 picks in this year’s draft, including three in the first round and five in the second and third. They have a chance to do what the Sixers couldn’t. They have a chance to rebuild the right way.

You know a pro athlete is having a rough go of it when his car gets stolen and it isn’t the most outrageous story about him that week. But at least A.J. Brown got his car back. Those of us who cover the Eagles can’t recover the time we wasted answering the same silly question over and over again over the last few days: Are they really gonna trade A.J.?

No, they’re not.

The Eagles are not trading Brown to the New England Patriots or anywhere else, not anytime soon. He just signed an extension last year. His contract calls for a crippling dead-cap hit against the Eagles if they were to trade him before June 1. And he’s one of the most beloved and respected players in their locker room.

None of those facts should be a secret to those who are paid to pay attention to such things. Anyone in the New England region who wanted to wish such a move into reality and anyone in Philadelphia who thought giving air to an illogical and baseless rumor would be a fun discussion ought to remember something: When athletes and news consumers say that they don’t or can’t trust the media, sometimes they have a valid reason.

So what hurt more Sunday: former Sixers draft pick Ty Jerome dropping 28 points in 26 minutes for the Cleveland Cavaliers in their Game 1 victory over the Miami Heat, or former Flyers goaltender Anthony Stolarz stopping 31 of 33 shots for the Toronto Maple Leafs in their Game 1 victory over the Ottawa Senators?

The Phillies’ bullpen, dude.

Correct.