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Ish Smith's return to Sixers in on point

ufffdBy Bob Cooney

ufffdufffdufffdTHE PROCESS, as we all know so well, has never been about winning games. At the head of these three seasons of ufffdufffdunfathomable ufffdufffdlosing has been the desire for player development. It is about turning secondufffdufffd-ufffd ufffdufffdufffdround picks and non-drafted chances into NBA contributors. More, itufffdufffd'ufffd'ufffdufffdufffds about turning the likes of Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor into players that can make this program prominent again.

But the development of ufffdufffdall the players ufffdeveryone ufffdwho have ufffdto ever ufffdworn a Sixers uniform ufffdplay for this team ufffdover the past three seasons - and there has been a ton of them - has been stalled because of ufffdufffdthe teamufffdufffd'ufffd'ufffdufffdufffds insistenceufffdufffdufffdinsistanceufffdufffdufffd on not addressing the pointufffdufffd-ufffd ufffdufffdufffdguard position.