Flush the Process

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

(Bryan Colangelo steps into the Sixers GM position with an enviable stocked cupboard of assets.)

Two much was going right in the Philadelphia basketball scene lately. Monday night, Villanova completed a dominant run through the NCAA tournament with one of the most thrilling shots in college basketball history. Then, of much lesser importance but equal improbability, the Sixers avoided tying the all-time worst record in NBA history by defeating the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday night for their 10th win of the season. The universe needed to self-correct, because if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my close to 30 years rooting for Philadelphia sports, it’s this: we can’t have nice things.

And so, Wednesday night provided balance back into the cosmic equation with this shocking tweet:

ESPN sources say Sam Hinkie has stepped down from his posts in Philadelphial

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 7, 2016

Sam Hinkie is gone, and with him is the Process, the decision-over-results mantra that governed the Sixers organization over the past three years. Stepping into the GM role will be Bryan Colangelo, after the Sixers scoured the globe for every available candidate who happened to have been sired by chairman of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo. Nepotism, it’s where any business goes to pot.

In the end, this entire situation reeks of cowardice from the Sixers owners. Joshua Harris and company hired Hinkie three years ago with the clear understanding that Hinkie’s decisions would be governed around a 5-7 year timeline. They understood that, it’s what they signed up for!

Then, all Hinkie did is go out and do exactly what he said he would. He bottomed out and restocked a bare cupboard with a great number of useful assets to start building a long-term contender. Along the way, he swindled the likes of New Orleans, Sacramento, and Milwaukee in trades. He deftly used cap space to pick up fringe draft picks for nothing. The only major things that didn’t happen like he said he would in his initial presentation were things out of his control (the luck of lottery balls and the imperfect science of player evaluation in the draft).

So yes, it was cowardice for owners to get cold feet on the plan and bring in Jerry Colangelo, because they couldn’t bear being the laughingstock of the league for the third straight season. It was also cowardice not to fire Sam Hinkie on the spot as soon as Colangelo was brought on board. The working together charade of the past few months was garbage, as was their wanting to bring in Bryan Colangelo in a “partnership” now. They forced Sam Hinkie’s hand in resigning (a man can only be stripped so much of his dignity) in some crazy optics plan to not seem to have fired him. You wanted him gone months ago, own up to it.

The worst part is, this is a no-lose situation for Bryan Colangelo. Any number of things that Hinkie has set in place could work out (Embiid could remain healthy, the Sixers get Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram and he’s a star, some portion of the Lakers or Kings draft assets will turn into something), and Colangelo will be viewed as the guy who made it happen. If he doesn’t turn things around, he can just say he inherited one of the worst teams record-wise in NBA history. Blame Hinkie!

Whenever the Sixers get good again, I’ll be ecstatic about it. I’ve been rooting for this team for close to 30 years after all. One thing I definitely won’t be happy about is that this is the ownership group that gets to revel in any success down the road.

Sam Hinkie wasn’t perfect, but he perfectly stuck to his plan. I wish Sixers owners had done the same.