Sam Hinkie
Luckily for the folks that are fans of the Philadelphia 76ers, there finally appears to be some hope. After three years of putting on a clinic of how not to run an NBA franchise, Sam Hinkie resigned as the Sixers general manager last week which was met by a chorus of cheers on Broad Street. Under Hinkie, the 76ers posted a record of 47-135 as it was the worst stretch of basketball in NBA history for any team. In each year under Hinkie, the 76ers actually found a way to get worse in every season as the highlight of his regime was winning 19 games during the 2013-2014 NBA season. The Sixers have managed to get worse as it took them until their 78th game of this NBA season to win their 10th game. Regardless of the abysmal results by Hinkie, he’ll always be remembered in Philadelphia for simply telling people to “trust the process”. But Hinkie’s process of gutting the Sixers roster upon his arrival to Philadelphia in favor of draft picks never caught on. Hinkie has used early picks in the NBA Draft on players such as center Joel Embiid who has never played in the NBA due to injuries while also trading away proven young players such as point guards Jrue Holiday and Michael Carter-Williams. And if you look at the current Sixers roster, it isn’t littered with that much NBA talent as Hinkie was more concerned with analytics than players who can actually contribute at a high level.
Jerry Colangelo
But you knew that Hinkie’s time was running out in Philadelphia when Jerry Colangelo was named as the chairman of basketball operations for the 76ers along with being a special advisor in early December. Colangelo is a Basketball Hall of Famer who has a rich and storied history of turning franchises around as he is the former owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks, along with being the architect of the current format for USA Basketball. At the time of Colangelo’s arrival to Philadelphia, the Sixers record was 1-20 and any hope of making the postseason this spring appeared to be a long shot at best. Colangelo wouldn’t be the only person from his family that would come to the City of Brotherly Love as his son, Bryan who is the former general manager of the Suns and Toronto Raptors was named the 76ers new president of basketball operations. Like his father, the younger Colangelo knows a thing or two about turning around NBA franchises as he is two-time league Executive of the Year. And with the Colangelos now running the show in Philadelphia, Hinkie became as useful as a cheese steak to a person that is on a strict diet as for the first time in a long time, the 76ers now appear to have hope.
Brett Brown
The first order of business for the Colangelos is to decide on a head coach. Brett Brown has been the head coach of the 76ers for the past three seasons. Brown is well respected around the NBA as having a quality basketball mind, but being that Hinkie never gave him a quality team to work with, will the Colangelos give him serious consideration as far as returning to Philadelphia for next season?
Jahlil Okafor
On top of deciding on the 76ers head coaching situation, the Colangelos will definitely be evaluating Philadelphia’s current roster. Last June, Hinkie did use the third overall pick of the NBA Draft on center Jahlil Okafor who is leading the team in scoring this year with 17.5 points per game. Okafor is a promising young player who could become a franchise player for the 76ers, however he has had several off-the-court incidents which will raise a few eyebrows with the Colangelos who have been known to trade star players who are unable to walk a straight line. After missing the entire 2013-2014 NBA season with a knee injury, power forward Nerlens Noel is turning into a solid rebounder and interior defender. This season Noel is averaging 8.1 rebounds per game which leads the Sixers while he has also displayed tremendous athleticism. The status of Embiid is still up in the air, but the 76ers could have a fierce front court trio on their hands if all three men are healthy and focused on basketball for next season. With the worst record in the NBA once again, the 76ers at worst should be picking in the top three of June’s NBA Draft which appears to be deep as Philadelphia and the Colangelos should be able to come away with a quality player.
Bryan Colangelo
For all of Hinkie’s faults as the Sixers general manager, he didn’t saddle the organization with lengthy, bloated contracts. Heading into next season, the 76ers only have $33 million committed to player salaries which along with draft picks will give the Colangelos all of the wiggle room necessary to turn this team around. And whereas the folks of Philadelphia are rightfully ashamed of their 76ers, that won’t be the case for long as whether by hook or crook, the Colangelos will get things turned around.
Source: Basketball-reference.com
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