30 Teams in (a lot more than) 30 Days: Philadelphia 76ers

Record last year: 28-54

Major departures: Gerald Henderson Jr. (Waived)

Major acquisitions: J.J. Redick (Signed from Clippers), Markelle Fultz (1st overall pick), Amir Johnson (Signed from Celtics), Furkan Korkmaz (Signed from Anadolu Efes [Turkish League]), Ben Simmons (Lots of injuries)

Leading scorer: Joel Embiid (20.2 PPG)

Leading rebounder: Joel Embiid (7.8 RPG)

Leading assister: T.J. McConnell (6.6 APG)

Now this is a story all about how......the Sixers got flip-turned upside down.

With the most painful part of "The Process" being over for Philly, they have nowhere to go but up at this point. I've written about The Process previously, and their consistent losing years have paid off in many new additions this season, all of whom look to make significant contributions to next season's success.

Like a crackhead, the long hours of sucking dick paid off for them eventually, but the Sixers' high will last much, much longer.

They selected Markelle Fultz as the 1st overall pick in this year's draft. The guard from Washington is an explosive offensive player, who can score and facilitate at a high level, especially in the pick & roll.

Fultz, who was my favorite player in the draft, has the potential to be a great defender as well. His combination of athleticism, size (6'5", 6'10" wingspan), and work ethic can hopefully give him the ability to defend 1's, 2's and even 3's.

Playing around guys like Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, and JJ Redick will help him develop properly into a face of the franchise.

JJ Redick is a sharphooter who chose to sign with the Sixers over the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets. At 33 years old, he's played the best basketball of his career in his last couple seasons with the Clippers.

Redick's ability to flourish off the ball will be a great complement to his more ball-dominant players, and provide spacing for non-shooters like Ben Simmons to operate in.

Simmons, the 1st overall pick of last year's draft, was sidelined for all of last season because of foot fracture complications. The 21-year-old Australian is a very creative passer and handler, and is a monster in transition.

Defensively, he has the size and quickness to guard multiple positions well, but is lazy at that end sometimes. Most of Simmons' question marks come from his effort and motivation.

But the most obvious issue for Simmons is his outside shooting. He cannot shoot 3's. He is reluctant to shoot 3's even when given 5 feet of space.

His lack of shooting will give him some struggles in the NBA, but his facilitation and agility at 6'10" will keep him a threat for most NBA defenses.

The new additions will have the great pleasure of playing with the talented Joel Embiid. The 7-footer is incredible skilled, and it will be interesting to see how the new additions will mesh with Jo.

His biggest problem is just staying on the basketball court. Embiid only played in 31 games last season due to knee injuries, and one Reddit user has pointed out the Cameroonian's dangerous lack of falling technique as a possible cause.

When he is on the court, Embiid is a game changing talent. Being over 7 feet tall and moving as fluidly as he does creates incredible matchup nightmares for opponents.

Playing behind Embiid is the much, much, much less talented Jahlil Okafor. It turns out his lack of defense, rebounding, athleticism, and jumpshooting are not very conducive to being a successful NBA big man.

Okafor's best NBA skill is post scoring, which puts him in the same category as guys like Greg Monroe and Al Jefferson. If they were to give Okafor the touches he needs to become effective, it would slow down the offense to a speed that the rest of his teammates may not be comfortable operating in.

Third-year big man Richaun Holmes is a much better fit for that backup role than Dookie-for. Holmes is an athletic big, who is a talented lob catcher, and good overall in the pick & roll.

And although his release is slow and awkward, he is a capable 3 point shooter (35% last season). All of that combined with his rim protection ability gives him much more value off the bench than Jahlil would provide.

My bold prediction for this team is that they win over 40 games next season. I think the new additions fit well enough with each other that they can have some success in the regular season, but I doubt they make it higher than the eighth seed.

The young Sixers are poised to make a big leap this season, but not without growing pains. Among many other things, the Sixers have to make big strides on offense (worst offensive rating in the NBA last season). But the shortcomings of a youthful team like this shouldn't hinder next season's fun.