When Jerry Colangelo took over as an adviser for the Philadelphia 76ers, the next logical question was whether general manager and president of basketball operations Sam Hinkie would stick around.
Fed up with the Sixers' blatant tanking, Colangelo was supposed to bring more progress than the process Hinkie preached for Philly fans to trust, trying to rebuild through the draft with some historically bad seasons.
Now after three years of acquiring assets (and not improving with wins), Hinkie has stepped down from both posts for the Sixers. The Sixers issued a statement on the resignation here:
"This evening, Sam Hinkie notified the organization that he has elected to step down as President of Basketball Operations and General Manager. While we are disappointed in Sam's decision, we would like to sincerely thank him for his contributions over the past three seasons. There is no question that Sam's work has put us in a very strong position to take advantage of numerous opportunities for an exciting future."
Marc Stein and ESPN obtained a copy of the 13-page letter Hinkie sent to Sixers ownership in which he defended his decisions in the long-term rebuild and said he didn't have the confidence to make good decisions in light of all the changes to the organization. You can read the letter in its entirety here.
In a letter to members of the Sixers' ownership group, obtained by ESPN.com, Hinkie wrote: "There has been much criticism of our approach. There will be more. A competitive league like the NBA necessitates a zig while our competitors comfortably zag. We often chose not to defend ourselves against much of the criticism, largely in an effort to stay true to the ideal of having the longest view in the room.
".. Given all the changes to our organization, I no longer have the confidence that I can make good decisions on behalf of investors in the Sixers -- you. So I should step down. And I have."
Tom Haberstroh of ESPN had a list of people quoted or cited in the letter, including Abraham Lincoln, Warren Buffett, and Elon Musk.
The list of non-basketball people that Sam Hinkie cites/quotes in his 13-page resignation letter obtained by ESPN: pic.twitter.com/QIwF5C7nb3
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) April 7, 2016
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical is reporting the Sixers had been looking into Bryan Colangelo and Danny Ferry as possible executives to be partners with Hinkie as they adjust the rebuilding process that Hinkie was attempting to execute. However, Hinkie did not want anything to do with partnering with another executive.
Sixers ownership had been touting that Hinkie would have another top basketball executive with a comparable title. That was a tough sell.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) April 7, 2016
Sources: Sixers have been discussing two possible candidates to share "partnership" with Hinkie: Bryan Colangelo and Danny Ferry.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) April 7, 2016
Wojnarowski is also reporting Bryan Colangelo will be hired by his father to be the next general manager of the Sixers. This is a pretty significant surprise to happen before the offseason begins. Assumptions of Hinkie being marginalized by the hiring and presence of Jerry Colangelo look to be pretty accurate now on the surface.
For the Sixers, they've tried to be the worst team in the league the last three seasons to have the best luck in the lottery, and it's only worked once. Milwaukee was worse two years ago. Minnesota was worse last year. Both times the Sixers ended up with the third pick in the draft. They missed out on Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Karl-Anthony Towns. They ended up with Joel Embiid, who has yet to play, and Jahlil Okafor, who is fine but also someone who had trade rumors around the trade deadline.
Under Hinkie, the Sixers were 47-195.
