The NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and former general manager Sam Hinkie became famous — or infamous, if you prefer — for their three-word description for a long, painful rebuilding project: Trust the Process.
The 76ers purposely bottomed out with three miserable seasons — including a 10-72 clunker in 2015-16 — but accumulated enough good players to reach the second round of the playoffs this year. That was a rebuild, a teardown, a gutting.
Wild owner Craig Leipold, in both firing Chuck Fletcher last month and in introducing new general manager Paul Fenton on Tuesday, made it clear that he is not interest in a wholesale rebuild.
Instead, Leipold and Fenton unleashed a new phrase on the sporting public at Tuesday's news conference: Tweak the Process.
In his introductory remarks, Fenton used those key words, saying: "I've been brought here to tweak this process," adding that the goal of those tweaks is to win a Stanley Cup and not just advance to the second round as the 76ers did and the Wild have topped out at in their six consecutive playoff appearances.
Leipold reinforced that with this: "This is not a rebuild, this is a tweak."
What tweaks, exactly? Fenton wouldn't say, preferring to confer with others in the Wild organization first. "I've told Craig the possibilities of different tweaks we can make," he said.
Fenton went with a variation on the theme when talking about the roster a little later. "It obviously doesn't need to be overhauled," he said, adding that he's looking for the "finishing touches that help us win."
