Sam Hinkie’s Process Cut Short With Philadelphia 76ers

On Wednesday, Sam Hinkie resigned as general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, a move that seemingly grew more and more inevitable over the past few months. By bringing on Jerry Colangelo in January, Hinkie’s plan took an abrupt and unpredictable detour with Philadelphia moving on less than 3 years into his tenure.

Throughout his time with the 76ers, Hinkie’s plan was constantly criticized, mocked and misunderstood. However, despite the never-ending attacks over his polarizing approach, his mindset never wavered. The direction of his former organization was clear and his mission was never in doubt, and that consistency has to be commended in a league full of fragile and faulty approaches. Hinkie’s goal of constructing Philadelphia’s roster for a run at a title was never conventional, and his way of thinking earned him the title of a true basketball progressive.

Ultimately, Hinkie’s process was one that would take time and patience, and the current season in Philadelphia only reinforced that notion. However, Marcus Hayes from Philly.com contended that Hinkie let down the 76ers, copping out midway through his long-term plan.

“The Sixers might be lying but they have given no inkling that they would have fired Hinkie. Rather, they said, they sought to benefit from his remarkable intellect and his boundless energy.”

However, the arrival of Colangelo said everything about where Philadelphia’s ownership group was steering the franchise, and their once-strong backing of Hinkie’s vision suddenly became flimsy. Bringing on Colangelo was a smack in the face to Hinkie, and his absolute power within the front office immediately diminished. Colangelo’s style represented a polar opposition to Hinkie’s long-term goal of avoiding mediocrity. In theory, Hinkie and Colangelo were never going to coexist in a front office. Unsurprisingly, Hinkie and Colangelo didn’t coexist in practice, either.

To look at Hinkie’s overall plan and the overall success of his strategy, one must remember back to the dismal roster he inherited in 2013. The 76ers were a below average team with very few assets on the roster, and a complete overhaul of the team was needed. Before Hinkie arrived in Philadelphia, the 76ers had just traded Nikola Vucevic, Maurice Harkless and Andre Iguodala for Jason Richardson and Andrew Bynum. Moves like this one screamed sustained mediocrity at a time when Philadelphia was trapped in basketball purgatory since Allen Iverson had retired.

Enter Hinkie, who brought a bold strategy to combat the recent trends of a franchise that lacked direction. Hinkie’s goal was to accumulate assets by stripping down the 76ers from top to bottom, while building a roster that possessed unparalleled financial stability. The plan, nicknamed “The Process,” was well on its way until Colangelo was brought on to help with some of Hinkie’s decisions. At that point, financial leverage was conceded for aging free agents, and budding draft picks were conceded for seemingly NBA-ready senior prospects. Ultimately, at that point, the long-term was conceded for the short-term, and the process was conceded for immediate and tangible results.

Vertical Sources: Bryan Colangelo taking over as 76ers general manager. https://t.co/8mBWrLDsaF

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 7, 2016

Now, despite losing their innovative decision maker, the Sixers are still in a position to succeed. As ESPN‘s Marc Stein explains, Hinkie has left a definite footprint on the current Philadelphia roster.

“I think most would prefer to be where the Sixers are [over teams at 38 wins or more]. They have so many assets that would interest rival teams, which thus gives them so many avenues to improve.”

Armed with a slew of picks, young talent and the most financial leverage in the league, Colangelo can potentially improve the team’s respectability rather quickly. However, even if the 76ers finally achieve a bump in the win column at some point in the near future, these results will all have been attained through the process that Sam Hinkie set forth.

[Photo by Matt Slocum/AP Images]