MILWAUKEE -- Welcome to NBA trade deadline day.
Coaches, players and fans remained glued to their phones, waiting for the next 'Woj bomb' that could alter the course of not only their team, but the league itself.
Philadelphia 76ers and Australian Boomers coach Brett Brown, in Milwaukee for his squad's marquee matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks, was one of those locked in on the league's happenings.
"I follow everything - it's my job. I follow it all and ... it's not just like 'let's pay attention today' ... as these things have been starting to play out and it definitely heats up," Brown said in Milwaukee just hours before the deadline.
The Sixers had found themselves in the centre of trade rumours, as one of the pre-season championship contenders continues to falter amidst speculation of team chemistry issues on the talented, yet, arguably ill-fitting roster.
"This is my 20th year in the NBA and 20 times I've gone through this period of time, both as an assistant coach and a head coach, and it's never a day that you like, it really isn't because something happens with a group of people that you've been coaching for a while and things change," he said.
"It's just the nature of our league but I'd be lying if I told you this is a day you look forward to."
The Sixers did indeed hit the trade table, acquiring Golden State Warriors duo Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III in exchange for draft capital.
The Sixers ranked 23rd in the NBA for 3-point attempts as of the deadline at 31 per game, while their overall percentage of 34.9 from deep sits 21st league-wide.
Burks is shooting 37.5 percent from range on 4.7 attempts per game this season, while Robinson is burying 40 percent of his tries on 3.5 launches per appearance, giving the Sixers an injection of shooting they badly needed from their reserves.
As is always the case on the morning of trade deadline, who is in actually with the team is perhaps the first indicator of what may be to come in the following hours, particularly in this instance, as Philadelphia would need to open up the subsequent roster spots to make room for Burks and Robinson.
Veteran forward and former Perth Wildcat James Ennis was the first casualty of the roster squeeze, as he was traded to the Orlando Magic for a second-round pick, before Trey Burke was waived, clearing the two required roster spots for the new Sixers pair.
On this morning, it wasn't any of the superstar names that were missing, as Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Al Horford were getting shots up at Fiserv Forum.
Australian forward Jonah Bolden was absent, as media was informed he did not travel with the team.
The talented 24-year-old has seen a sharp decline in playing time with Philadelphia, as offseason acquisitions swallowed up the significant playing time he found down the stretch last season. Bolden has appeared in just four games this season, totalling 14 minutes in those games, compared with his 44 games and 639 minutes a season ago, including 10 starts.
Brown acknowledged trade deadline day can be a stressful time for players, as families can be uprooted and lives changed in a matter of minutes, all while there is still a game to prepare for in a matter of hours.
"I think everybody handles it personally, I think there's no perfect road map to lay out for them," he said. "What I mostly try and do is be as honest as I can be on what's going on."
Holders of a 9-18 record heading into Friday morning's game with the Milwaukee Bucks, the Sixers are scuffling to find a solution for their lowly win-loss mark away from the Wells Fargo Center.
"[We are] the most dominant team in the league at home. The records speak as facts and so we go from one extreme to the other and ... why is that? That's my job as the coach to fix it," Brown said.
"To blame because we had a cr-p shootaround or there is complete disharmony among the team, it isn't that at all, it really isn't that. With that it becomes even a little bit more mysterious."
Brown, as expected, is denying any locker room chemistry concerns for the Sixers struggles, and with that, they will forge ahead towards the playoffs, with their starting five of Simmons, Embiid, Horford, Tobias Harris and Josh Richardson intact.
"Absolutely, I do," Brown responded when asked if he think this Sixers group is closer than people think to turning the corner.
"But words don't matter, it's a show me league, and it should be that."
The Sixers have $US105+ million invested in their starting line-up this season, a group that is just mere months into its first assault on an NBA Championship together.
The proof will be in the pudding come playoff time when the lights are brightest, but for today, the Sixers held firm and will indeed 'trust the process'.
That's not always the case on NBA trade deadline day.
