The Philadelphia 76ers have transformed from the NBA's unabashed tankers into full-fledged bulldozers.

They won 52 games—nearly as many as the last three seasons combined (56) and more than they had since Allen Iverson and Larry Brown led the charge to the 2001 Finals. They picked up their first playoff series win (in convincing fashion) since 2012, then received 59.7 percent of their second-round points from the 24-and-under trio of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Dario Saric.

So, even if it feels a bit gloomy after Wednesday night's season-ending 114-112 loss to the Boston Celtics, the future is blindingly bright in Philly. But there's more work to do to realize that potential.

"The Process is never going to end," Embiid told reporters after the game. "This is a process to get to the playoffs, we did it. This was a process to get to the conference finals, we didn't. Next year, that's our goal."

This summer affords the front office an opportunity to do some heavy lifting. The Sixers have money to spend, young talent to help recruit, draft picks to keep adding puzzle pieces and trade assets to potentially pounce on any available star.

Setting the Stage

The first phase of The Process was easy—lose enough games to ensure maximum throws at the draft board. Up next is the hard part: carefully completing the championship-caliber structure around the young nucleus.

And it ideally needs to happen this summer, since Philly is in such a unique situation to buy.

The Sixers are cheap for now, with only $67.4 million committed to next season's cap. That gives Philly the third-most practical cap space to work with and by far the most win-now promise of any likely spender. The franchise's financial wiggle room also comes attached to a time clock, since the youngsters won't be economical forever.

"Philly is doing major game-planning for arguably their most important summer in franchise history, because they're not gonna have cap space and their draft pick assets dwindle a little after this year," ESPN's Brian Windhorst told Bill Simmons on his podcast for The Ringer (via SportsRadio 94WIP). "This summer is everything for them."

The Sixers are poised to make a splash however they see fit.

If free agency is the answer, they have enough money to go big-game hunting. If the trade route is preferred, they can assemble a desirable package of prospects and draft picks.

Speaking of picks, Philly is holding enough to be an attractive dealer at the draft. It has at least five selections, both of its own (26 and 56) and second-rounders from Brooklyn (38), New York (39) and Houston (60). It's also likely to collect the Lakers' first-rounder, unless that selection jumps to second or third (then it goes to Boston).

Philly has four rotation players bound for unrestricted free agency—J.J. Redick, Marco Belinelli, Ersan Ilyasova and Amir Johnson. It also holds team options on T.J. McConnell and Richaun Holmes.

Priority No. 1: Chasing a Third Star

Forget about the Lakers and their two max-contract slots, or the Rockets with their potential to put half (or more) of the infamous banana boat crew together. The Sixers are the most interesting buyer in this market.

One can plot a path between every seemingly available star and the City of Brotherly Love.

Multiple executives feel the Sixers are on LeBron James' short list, per The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor. Basketball Insiders' Steve Kyler hears Paul George will give the Sixers some consideration.

If Kawhi Leonard reaches the trade block, executives expect Philly to place a bid, per Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News. Young opined a package featuring Saric, Markelle Fultz, Robert Covington and a 2018 first-rounder (presumably the Lakers') could entice the Alamo City.

Oh, and as Windhorst relayed during a recent appearance on SportsNation, the possibility of Philly adding two of these players shouldn't be ruled out:

James isn't the cleanest on-court fit, since he, Simmons and Embiid can all dominate touches. But he's also LeBron James, so it he wants to come to Philly—he was flattered by those recruiting billboards—the Sixers will welcome him with open arms and figure out the logistics later.

Leonard and George, meanwhile, would be ideal ways of scratching a three-and-D itch. They have seven All-Defensive team selections between them, and each owns a career three-point percentage north of 37. Since they can serve as both spot-up snipers and shot-creators, they could thrive alongside Simmons and Embiid or help solve any dry spells without them.

And any of these potential partnerships would be mutually beneficial, since the Sixers offer so much as a buyer. No one can match Philly's combination of on-hand talent, cap flexibility and trade chips.

The Association might not have a better young duo than Embiid and Simmons. The former stayed (mostly) healthy for the first time this season and was voted an All-Star starter. The latter joined Oscar Robertson as the only rookies to ever average at least 15 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. Embiid turned 24 in March, and Simmons only turns 22 in July.

The Sixers have $30.5 million in practical cap space. Only six other teams have at least $20 million. Five of them had losing records. The other, Houston, can only access its cap room by ditching Chris Paul's free-agent hold.

Philly's trade bullets include a No. 1 pick who has barely been used (Fultz), former first-rounders who haven't begun to blossom (Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Furkan Korkmaz) and present or future draft considerations. Plus, once this NBA calendar closes, Jerryd Bayless becomes an expiring $8.6 million salary.

This is the perfect window for the Sixers to strike, and a home run haul could put them in the championship running as soon as next season.

Priority No. 2: Retaining Enough Shooting

Philly's leading offensive forces come from opposite ends of the hoops timeline.

On one side there's Embiid, who isn't hesitant to play on the perimeter but does his best work dancing around the post like a throwback big. Then there's Simmons, a 6'10" point guard who embodies the modern attitudes of pushing boundaries and bucking conventional wisdom.

It's a fascinating blend of talents—and one that can only survive alongside copious amounts of shooting.

Since Simmons never takes threes and Embiid makes them infrequently (30.8 percent this season), Philly can't afford to put any other non-spacers on the floor. It hasn't needed to with the likes of Redick, Belinelli, Ilyasova and Robert Covington all available. But Covington is the only sharpshooter under contract next season, so Philly must prioritize the perimeter this summer.

But the Sixers also need to do the seemingly impossible: Find cheap shooting when that's what every team wants.

Remember, the dream summer involves acquiring one or more stars who will chew up a good chunk of the budget. So, that wouldn't leave the leeway to splurge on a specialist.

Redick, who has fit like a glove since his four-triple debut, hopes his Philly career will "be a long-term thing," per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Redick also added he's "under no grand illusion" about being viewed as a definite keeper depending on which free agents are available to the Sixers.

Redick, Belinelli and Ilyasova are all worth having. They supplement the current core and could prove just as critical to the next one. But the money has to be right so these complementary players don't block the arrivals of any possible centerpieces.

Draft Targets

It'll be a busy draft night for general manager Bryan Colangelo and his staff. It's hard to imagine the Sixers making five or six picks, and trades could take them any direction.

For simplicity's sake, let's assume Philly collects the pick from L.A. at No. 10 and uses all six picks at its disposal. Which players would be worth a look?

Villanova standout Mikal Bridges would be a dream get at No. 10, as Jonathan Givony wrote for ESPN.com:

"It makes sense to think about drafting a wing who can complement the building blocks of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz.

"Bridges is an easy player to slot on almost any NBA roster, thanks to his multipositional defensive versatility, three-point shooting and role-player potential. He isn't as gifted a shot creator as you'd like from a top-10 pick, but on this roster, he won't need to be."

Kevin Knox (Kentucky) and Miles Bridges (Michigan State) would also bring athleticism, versatility and some shot-making to the forward spots. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Kentucky) and Lonnie Walker IV (Miami) could both boost the reserve backcourt with length and two-way versatility.

Jacob Evans (Cincinnati) and Khyri Thomas (Creighton) might fit the three-and-D mold at No. 26. Chandler Hutchison (Boise State) would work in the same range as a second-team scorer, while Dzanan Musa (Bosnia and Herzegovina) could be an option if Philly goes the draft-and-stash route.

With the early second-round picks, the Sixers might gamble on the upside of Hamidou Diallo (Kentucky), the offensive prowess of Malik Newman (Kansas) or the length, basketball I.Q. and sharpshooting of Landry Shamet (Wichita State). The later selections might be best used on stashes like Goga Bitadze (Georgia), Isaac Bonga (Germany), Arnoldas Kulboka (Lithuania) or Amine Noua (France).

Free-Agency Targets

Given the wealth of Philly's asset collection, its target list can expand as wide as the organization wants.

While we've already covered the Sixers' chances of snagging a whale above, there are other, low-hanging options to consider.

The Sixers could enter the restricted free-agent market if they see better shooting coming from Aaron Gordon or more defensive effort ahead for Jabari Parker. Both players would fit Philly's timeline, with Gordon giving the club another athletic, all-purpose defender or Parker providing another safety valve in the half-court offense.

The Sixers could also pursue the best role players available.

If that means three-and-D wings, then Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Avery Bradley, Trevor Ariza or Danny Green (player option) should all get a look. If that means sharpshooters, then a reunion with Redick and addition of Wayne Ellington (a Philly native), Anthony Tolliver or Joe Harris might be the best route. If bench scoring is a focus, Will Barton or Tyreke Evans might top the wish list.

Or the franchise could play the waiting game, re-sign most of its own free agents on one-year deals and try its luck in 2019 free agency.

"This approach would set the 76ers up with a projected $30 million in cap space in 2019," ESPN.com's Bobby Marks wrote. "... Setting aside cap space until 2019 would allow 76ers management to develop the young core and target a much-needed star shooting guard in [Klay] Thompson or Jimmy Butler."

All options are on the table, which seems incredible given how much of a contending-caliber roster is already in place. If Philly guesses correctly in the most critical areas, the fruits of its offseason work could be felt across all of basketball.

Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from Basketball Reference or NBA.com. Salary information obtained via Basketball Insiders.

Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @ZachBuckleyNBA.