To call the Philadelphia 76ers pathetic would be giving them a compliment. With a current record 1-22, the 76ers are well on their way to a fourth consecutive losing season, but it is the fashion in which they are doing it. The Sixers win total has decreased in each of the last five years and it could actually get worse this NBA season as there is a strong possibility that they could be the first team in league history since the 1972-1973 76ers to go a full 82-game regular season without winning at least 10 games.
Sam Hinkie
Sam Hinkie has been the man that has led the Sixers into their current abyss. Hinkie was hired in 2013 as the president of basketball operations and general manager of the 76ers as his efforts have been futile at best. Hinkie is a firm believer in analytics when it comes to evaluating a player as opposed to the good olde-fashion eye test. And what the Sixers have gotten on Hinkie’s watch is nothing but bewilderment.
As soon as Hinkie took over in Philadelphia, he traded All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday to the New Orleans Pelicans. Right after Hinkie traded Holiday, he would draft his replacement at point guard in Michael Carter-Williams. Williams would be named as the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2014, only to be traded by the 76ers to the Milwaukee Bucks last year. Hinkie has also used early picks in the NBA Draft on players who were unable to immediately contribute. When Holiday was traded to the Pelicans, the Sixers obtained the draft rights to center Nerlens Noel who missed the entire 2013-2014 NBA season as he was recovering from a torn ACL. In 2014, the 76ers used the third overall pick of the NBA Draft on center Joel Embiid who has still yet to suit up for them in a game due to injuries. This past summer, the Sixers used the third overall picks of the NBA Draft on center Jahlil Okafor. Okafor is leading the 76ers in points scored this season with 16.9 per contest, but several off-the-court issues resulted in him being suspended by the team for two games. Hinkie continues to live by his philosophy of “trusting the process” which is his constant message to the fans and media alike in Philadelphia. But Hinkie appears to have reached the point of no return.
Jerry Colangelo
The putrid results of the 76ers led to several NBA team owners approaching NBA commissioner Adam Silver as far as doing something about the club. This led Silver to approach Jerry Colangelo. Colangelo has stellar resume as far as operating sports franchises as he is the former owner/general manager of the Phoenix Suns, while also previously owning the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball, and the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League. Colangelo is also a four-time NBA Executive of the Year while also overseeing the resurgence of the United States Men’s Basketball team which led to gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. Colangelo knows how the reshape organizations and this week he was appointed as the new president of basketball operations for the 76ers.
Colangelo’s presence with the Sixers will undoubtedly infringe on Hinkie’s handling of the team which is a good thing as this team needs to be revitalized as there is a huge need for a culture change in Philadelphia.
Of the 15 players that are currently on the 76ers roster, only power forward Carl Landry is above the age of 25. And for many of the young Sixers, they don’t know what it takes to win in the NBA as there aren’t enough veterans on this team to show them the way to succeed in the league. But with Colangelo on board, everyone within the Sixers organization (including the parking attendants), should be on pins and needles as there will be a reshaping down through the franchise that it bigger than any cheese steak.
Colangelo’s arrival all but symbolizes the end of the line for Hinkie in Philadelphia as he is no longer the guy that is in charge there. Hinkie’s departure would also more than likely symbolize the end of Brett Brown era as the 76ers head coach. In two-plus seasons with the Sixers, Brown’s record is just 38-148 as it is enough to make the Washington Generals cringe. The Sixers must find a way to become more competitive in games as they were embarrassed this past Monday night at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs 119-68. The 76ers are last in points scored (90.8) and 24th in points allowed (103.0) as the end result is a team that is 1-22. The Sixers have gotten to the point that NBA teams can mark them off as an easy win on the calendar as they are lining up to face them.
Colangelo won’t turn around the 76ers right away, but he’ll do it in phases. You can now expect the 76ers to be more competitive while he begins to assess the roster. And whereas Hinkie has mainly missed on his draft selections, you can rest assured that Colangelo won’t. Drafting and doing it properly needs to be main focus of the Sixers right now as they are nowhere near being appealing to potential NBA free agents to come to Philadelphia. But Colango’s arrival in Philadelphia will give the people in Philadelphia some hope as someone is finally running the team that knows what he is doing.
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