The Nerlens Noel debate was always a multi-fronted affair, so it would be disingenuous to declare any sort of finitude after less than a month of seeing how things play out. The overarching criticism from many Sixers fans remains as valid as it is impervious to rebuttal: In waiting until the last possible moment to trade Noel, general manager Bryan Colangelo betrayed an ignorance or incomprehension of one of the fundamental principles of The Process, that any player who is deemed not to be an end in and of himself is necessarily a means to acquiring such an end/ends, and thus is no longer a basketball player but an asset whose primary function is as a store of value. In salvaging a couple of second-round picks and a former No. 21 overall pick for a former No. 6 overall pick with a marketable skill set, Colangelo allowed the considerable portfolio he inherited from his predecessor to shrink. In the end, the Sixers were unable to use the No. 6 overall pick in the 2013 draft to move themselves appreciably closer to contention.