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76ers owner: 'I am going to text Sam Hinkie a big kiss tonight' Sam Hinkie may have stepped down as general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers more than a year ago, but his infamous "Process" is still paying dividends.
Could the Directionless Kings Trust Sam Hinkie’s Process?
By Ron Sullivan, www.cornerpubsports.com
According to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein and Zach Lowe, the Sacramento Kings have received permission to speak with former Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie about a possible role in their front office.
The Kings would release the following statement regarding the news, per Wojnarowski,
“The Kings are not hiring Sam Hinkie and have no plans to bring anyone in above Vlade.”
However, the Kings also said that they weren’t looking to trade Demarcus Cousins too, until they were. Wojnarowski doubled-down on his report that they are indeed searching for someone above Divac.
“Ranadive has been canvassing the NBA for possible candidates and has been mostly intrigued with Hinkie, who is living in the Northern California area now,” Wojnarowski wrote.”There’s been discussion at the Kings’ ownership level about keeping Divac in a player-personnel role, but transferring the overall management of basketball operations to someone else.”
In Philadelphia, Sam Hinkie was the architect of “The Process.” A strategy who’s basic idea was that the NBA draft is the best, cheapest way to build a championship contender, and that the NBA draft is a total crapshoot.
Hinkie’s strategy included sacrificing everything, from entire seasons to his relationships around the league, in a mad obsession of acquiring draft picks. Hinkie apologists usually point to the sheer quantity of picks the team has as evidence that his plan has been “working.”
What Hinkie really thinks about the draft, however, was revealed in something he said at a press conference last season:
“We will not bat a thousand on every single draft pick. We also have [picks] by the bushelful, in part, because of that. We don’t have any hubris that we will get them all right. We’re not certain that we have an enormous edge over anybody else. In some cases, we might not have an edge at all.”
While part of this statement may hold some truth, essentially Hinkie was admitting that he’s really only an average talent evaluator. He uses this as an argument for The Process.
‘Since we aren’t great at drafting, logic would seem to dictate, we need to lose a lot and trade away everything that isn’t bolted down in order to hoard enough picks to ensure a few of them succeed.’
The Process hinges on drafting future stars. Yet at the same time, ironically, Hinkie was all but conceding that he can’t tell who these players are chalking it up to just … luck.
His “plan” hinged on the NBA draft indeed being a crapshoot. The flaw in his thinking is that IT ISN’T. We know this because some NBA general managers have shown they’re clearly better than others at spotting talent.
In San Antonio, RC Buford and Gregg Popovich drafted (even overlooking the obvious selection of Tim Duncan), Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Beno Udrih, Tiago Splitter, George Hill, DeJuan Blair, and traded for Kawhi Leonard on draft night. Larry Riley, Bob Myers and Jerry West drafted Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli, and Draymond Green for Golden State. In Oklahoma City, Sam Presti drafted Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, James Harden, Reggie Jackson, Steven Adams, and Cameron Payne.
Not to say there isn’t ANY luck in the draft (there is), or that the above GM’s haven’t made poor draft picks because they have, but evaluating talent very clearly IS a skill. It may be the most important trait a GM can have. RC Buford and Sam Presti definitely have it. Sam Hinkie in his words and actions has all dismissed it as coincidence.
Placing an importance on the draft as a way of building a team is perfectly reasonable. It’s a point I’ve always stressed myself across each of the four major sports. Hinkie essentially attempted to circumvent the draft while giving very little consideration just being better at spotting talent than other GM’s. He took a quasi-logical idea to an absurdly illogical extreme. Although, in the interest of fairness, I’ve recently openly wondered how much of Hinkie’s plan was at ownership’s marching orders.
The Kings have long been regarded as one of the NBA’s most dysfunctional franchises. Valde Divac’s moves over the past few years haven’t helped that perception. After trading DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans, the Kings seem to be turning their attention to the draft, much in the same way the Sixers had. At face value, Hinkie might seem to be a logical fit. Be careful what you wish for, however; Kings fans should be ready to embrace a strategy that includes aggressively losing for years on a scale that can only be described as epic.
Kings deny interest in Hinkie; not looking to hire someone above Divac "The Process" may not be making its way to Sacramento after all. The Sacramento Kings released a statement Monday night concerning…
Report: Kings receive permission to speak to Sam Hinkie by Chris Walder 22m ago Mitchell Leff / Getty Images Sport / Getty The man behind the now infamous "Process" is apparently in high demand around the Association.
Embiid posts photo with 'THE GOAT' Hinkie Joel Embiid could begin his NBA career this upcoming season after he was drafted third overall by the…
Exhibit B: The Hinkie Defense
Sam Hinkie resigned last week, and we all have thoughts on that. I’m not going to sit here and write a thousand word article and try to convince you my opinion is right or better. However, there are a few things that need to be addressed. First, I’d like to state I was not a fan of the outright tanking strategy. It lacked subtlety and ultimately that caused Hinkie to lose his job. This thought was reinforced by Zach Lowe who, on his podcast (the Lowe Post), listed a number of teams that tanked during the duration of The Process (the Magic and Jazz). Nonetheless, these teams did not tank for multiple seasons (consecutively) and they did not make it painfully obvious that they were doing so. The fact of the matter is The Process has yet to yield us a number one overall pick (fingers crossed) and that was one of the core objectives of Hinkie’s plan. I think we could have put together bad teams without being historically awful while still yielding a high draft pick. Hinkie would most likely still have a job and we would all be a bit happier. There, now that that has been said let’s move on too…
The Letter
The letter must be addressed. People went out of their way to express how odd they felt it was and how it made no sense to them. I’d like to remind those people, the letter was not written for you. Sam Hinkie’s former employers are billionaires and millionaires, not Joey from Frankford who calls into 97.5 radio station to argue with Mike Missanelli. He did not write that letter in a manner that ordinary fair weather fans could relate to. He wrote for his bosses. If you thought it was strange it’s because you should. It was written very similar to a scientific academic paper, which is most likely what most of the Sixers’ owners are acclimated to reading.
The Brain of this trust wrote that he got a sense of arrogance from Hinkie in the letter. I’d argue that he may have felt that because he was reading it out of context. Again, we have to keep in mind we weren’t meant to see this letter. Still, I did not get that impression of Hinkie. Sam, in my opinion, seemed like someone who felt bad about quitting and was trying to give some sound advice to his employers on the way out. And, by providing evidence, emphasizing why they should not demolish what Sam AND ownership started to build. He acknowledges that he made mistakes. However, he also explains that, although every decision won’t work out, it doesn’t mean the logic behind them wasn’t sound. And, as long as the decision making is sound, eventually good things will happen. That, and the fact that the Sixers are in a better position than they were three years ago was his point. Also, I would like to point out that Hinkie could have taken some LeBron esque shots at Colangelo but chose not to. And, I get the feeling that more people would have liked the letter had he done so. Nevertheless, let’s drop the letter. Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Jerry Colangelo was the one who leaked the letter, and we know Woj’s word can be taken to the bank. Jerry wanted all of us to think of Hinkie as a weirdo and a prick. Like many fans, Jerry most likely had a hard time comprehending the letter. But is that a good sign? I would say no. I’d prefer the guy co-running my team be smarter than me.
What’s done is done.
One thing a team needs, for sure, to build a contender is cap space. And boy, did Hinkie create space. In fact, he created over $30 million of it. That’s too much for even two Colangelos to mess up. Also, Hinkie has acquired a tremendous amount of picks. We all know about the potential for this year’s draft but we have extra picks up to year 2020. And, don’t undervalue the Sacramento pick swaps. Max Rapaport laid out the draft pick situation perfectly in an article he wrote for NBA.com. Also, I must point out that Bill Simmons (as well as a bunch of others) has reported that the Celtics offered the Sixers the unprotected Nets pick (projected top 5) for Jahlil Okafor at this year’s trade deadline. Obviously, this trade did not happen. Should it have? Yes, without hesitation. Now, I can’t say for sure, but I think Hinkie does that deal if Jerry Colangelo is not there.
Yet and still.
Still, I would be remiss if I did not mention some of Hinkie’s shortcomings. During the 2015 draft the one player I did not want was Okafor. We did not need another big, but more, we did not need a big who cannot shoot or defend. And if you follow my Twitter (@dictorino), you know I wanted Russell or Porzingis. Although I must admit I have come around a bit on Jah. I think if he is our second best scorer and has some athletes surrounding him, he could be on a championship team. However, we are far away from that. And how long can he or the Sixers wait?. Hinkie should have picked Porzingis. There is no way around it. I know Jah has time to be great and Porzingis has time to be average but at third overall you could have gotten the second best rookie this year and maybe Dirk 2.0. Another fair point The Brain of this trust brought up was players develop bad habits in losing situations. When players are on perpetual losers they become losers themselves. However, I would argue that most of the players on this team will not be around for the Sixers’ next phase of rebuilding. Additionally, the ones that ARE staying are not truly untouchable keepers. I think when we finally get a “best player” it starts and ends with him. If that guy buys into what the coaching staff is preaching everyone else buys in too. No matter how many games they have lost.
This bring us to the pitcher of Shirley Temple in the room. Joel Embiid could very well be the “best player” I referred to. Now, one can argue he is not capable of being a leader but I’ll leave that for another time. The one aspect of Hinkie’s letter that has been glossed over is the fact that the Sixers truly still do not know if Embiid will fully recover from foot surgery. Unfortunately, Hinkie’s job security was tied to that seven foot, uber athletic, three point shooting, between the legs dunking, phenom. Hinkie’s story is completely different if Embiid played this year. It’s possible Porzingis would have been a Sixer in that scenario also. Hinkie did make mistakes in the draft and yes some of that was luck, but some of it was poor decision making as well.
In Conclusion.
In the end, Sixers’ ownership was swindled into hiring the younger Colangelo and abandoning The Process. And, in the process (get it? Too soon, sorry) lost a smart General Manager in Sam Hinkie. Some people have made a big deal about Hinkie’s lack of a relationship with other General Managers and player agents. My response to that is I don’t believe most GMs love each other. Their jobs are to take players away from each other. I do believe that most GMs respect one another and that most hate Hinkie because of the outright tanking. So maybe he tried to cultivate relationships and maybe they did not reciprocate. The fact is we have no idea what truly happened. And as far as agents go, I’d hope most agents dislike my GM. Agents love stupid GMs. overall and ultimately agents will do whatever the players want. Do you think David West’s agent loved him taking the league minimum this year? I don’t. But it was David’s decision.
I am not here telling you Sam Hinkie was Red Auerbach or Pat Riley. I’m here to tell you Sixers’ ownership decided to carry out Sam’s plan and then caved when they got some heat for it. If you put us through all this losing and put so much into your future with draft picks you have to see this to the end. Sam is a smart NBA executive and Sixers’ ownership let him walk. Smart people are not easy to come by and I think the Colangelos will make that painfully apparent. SIxers fans. I truly hope that I am wrong. But in the words of the illustrious Charles Barkley, “I may be wrong, but I doubt it.”
Exhibit B: The Hinkie Defense
Sam Hinkie resigned last week, and we all have thoughts on that. I’m not going to sit here and write a thousand word article and try to convince you my opinion is right or better. However, there are a few things that need to be addressed. First, I’d like to state I was not a fan of the outright tanking strategy. It lacked subtlety and ultimately that caused Hinkie to lose his job. This thought was reinforced by Zach Lowe who, on his podcast (the Lowe Post), listed a number of teams that tanked during the duration of The Process (the Magic and Jazz). Nonetheless, these teams did not tank for multiple seasons (consecutively) and they did not make it painfully obvious that they were doing so. The fact of the matter is The Process has yet to yield us a number one overall pick (fingers crossed) and that was one of the core objectives of Hinkie’s plan. I think we could have put together bad teams without being historically awful while still yielding a high draft pick. Hinkie would most likely still have a job and we would all be a bit happier. There, now that that has been said let’s move on too…
The Letter
The letter must be addressed. People went out of their way to express how odd they felt it was and how it made no sense to them. I’d like to remind those people, the letter was not written for you. Sam Hinkie’s former employers are billionaires and millionaires, not Joey from Frankford who calls into 97.5 radio station to argue with Mike Missanelli. He did not write that letter in a manner that ordinary fair weather fans could relate to. He wrote for his bosses. If you thought it was strange it’s because you should. It was written very similar to a scientific academic paper, which is most likely what most of the Sixers’ owners are acclimated to reading.
The Brain of this trust wrote that he got a sense of arrogance from Hinkie in the letter. I’d argue that he may have felt that because he was reading it out of context. Again, we have to keep in mind we weren’t meant to see this letter. Still, I did not get that impression of Hinkie. Sam, in my opinion, seemed like someone who felt bad about quitting and was trying to give some sound advice to his employers on the way out. And, by providing evidence, emphasizing why they should not demolish what Sam AND ownership started to build. He acknowledges that he made mistakes. However, he also explains that, although every decision won’t work out, it doesn’t mean the logic behind them wasn’t sound. And, as long as the decision making is sound, eventually good things will happen. That, and the fact that the Sixers are in a better position than they were three years ago was his point. Also, I would like to point out that Hinkie could have taken some LeBron esque shots at Colangelo but chose not to. And, I get the feeling that more people would have liked the letter had he done so. Nevertheless, let’s drop the letter. Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Jerry Colangelo was the one who leaked the letter, and we know Woj’s word can be taken to the bank. Jerry wanted all of us to think of Hinkie as a weirdo and a prick. Like many fans, Jerry most likely had a hard time comprehending the letter. But is that a good sign? I would say no. I’d prefer the guy co-running my team be smarter than me.
What’s done is done.
One thing a team needs, for sure, to build a contender is cap space. And boy, did Hinkie create space. In fact, he created over $30 million of it. That’s too much for even two Colangelos to mess up. Also, Hinkie has acquired a tremendous amount of picks. We all know about the potential for this year’s draft but we have extra picks up to year 2020. And, don’t undervalue the Sacramento pick swaps. Max Rapaport laid out the draft pick situation perfectly in an article he wrote for NBA.com. Also, I must point out that Bill Simmons (as well as a bunch of others) has reported that the Celtics offered the Sixers the unprotected Nets pick (projected top 5) for Jahlil Okafor at this year’s trade deadline. Obviously, this trade did not happen. Should it have? Yes, without hesitation. Now, I can’t say for sure, but I think Hinkie does that deal if Jerry Colangelo is not there.
Yet and still.
Still, I would be remiss if I did not mention some of Hinkie’s shortcomings. During the 2015 draft the one player I did not want was Okafor. We did not need another big, but more, we did not need a big who cannot shoot or defend. And if you follow my Twitter (@dictorino), you know I wanted Russell or Porzingis. Although I must admit I have come around a bit on Jah. I think if he is our second best scorer and has some athletes surrounding him, he could be on a championship team. However, we are far away from that. And how long can he or the Sixers wait?. Hinkie should have picked Porzingis. There is no way around it. I know Jah has time to be great and Porzingis has time to be average but at third overall you could have gotten the second best rookie this year and maybe Dirk 2.0. Another fair point The Brain of this trust brought up was players develop bad habits in losing situations. When players are on perpetual losers they become losers themselves. However, I would argue that most of the players on this team will not be around for the Sixers’ next phase of rebuilding. Additionally, the ones that ARE staying are not truly untouchable keepers. I think when we finally get a “best player” it starts and ends with him. If that guy buys into what the coaching staff is preaching everyone else buys in too. No matter how many games they have lost.
This bring us to the pitcher of Shirley Temple in the room. Joel Embiid could very well be the “best player” I referred to. Now, one can argue he is not capable of being a leader but I’ll leave that for another time. The one aspect of Hinkie’s letter that has been glossed over is the fact that the Sixers truly still do not know if Embiid will fully recover from foot surgery. Unfortunately, Hinkie’s job security was tied to that seven foot, uber athletic, three point shooting, between the legs dunking, phenom. Hinkie’s story is completely different if Embiid played this year. It’s possible Porzingis would have been a Sixer in that scenario also. Hinkie did make mistakes in the draft and yes some of that was luck, but some of it was poor decision making as well.
In Conclusion.
In the end, Sixers’ ownership was swindled into hiring the younger Colangelo and abandoning The Process. And, in the process (get it? Too soon, sorry) lost a smart General Manager in Sam Hinkie. Some people have made a big deal about Hinkie’s lack of a relationship with other General Managers and player agents. My response to that is I don’t believe most GMs love each other. Their jobs are to take players away from each other. I do believe that most GMs respect one another and that most hate Hinkie because of the outright tanking. So maybe he tried to cultivate relationships and maybe they did not reciprocate. The fact is we have no idea what truly happened. And as far as agents go, I’d hope most agents dislike my GM. Agents love stupid GMs. overall and ultimately agents will do whatever the players want. Do you think David West’s agent loved him taking the league minimum this year? I don’t. But it was David’s decision.
I am not here telling you Sam Hinkie was Red Auerbach or Pat Riley. I’m here to tell you Sixers’ ownership decided to carry out Sam’s plan and then caved when they got some heat for it. If you put us through all this losing and put so much into your future with draft picks you have to see this to the end. Sam is a smart NBA executive and Sixers’ ownership let him walk. Smart people are not easy to come by and I think the Colangelos will make that painfully apparent. SIxers fans. I truly hope that I am wrong. But in the words of the illustrious Charles Barkley, “I may be wrong, but I doubt it.”