There may be no more polarizing figure in Philly sports, perhaps in all the NBA than Sam Hinkie. In lieu of the Sixers' emotionally charged victory in the NBA draft lottery, there may be no more sympathetic figure as well.
To many, lottery success was vindication of everything Hinkie had been working toward before he was ousted prematurely as Sixers general manager. It was the culmination of his vision -- "the process" -- to transform a losing team that lacked the means to improve gradually. Yet Hinkie won't get the opportunity to lead Sixers back from the dark ages, because he was pushed out the door by an impatient league or ownership group or both.
If there was any justice in the world, Hinkie would still be GM. But there wasn't, and he isn't, so it's time to let go.
Instead of simply reveling in the moment that could change the franchise forever, there are actually people who seem more hung up on front office politics, or how this impacts Hinkie's legacy. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Hinkie isn't here anymore, and the only legacy that matters is the one this new era of Sixers is going to leave behind.
This is where some feel Hinkie fanatics wade dangerously into cult territory. At what point did men in suits gain a bigger following than the athletes on the court?
I get it. At its heart, this boils down to a reasonable debate over who is best equipped to lead the franchise moving forward or whether Hinkie was really on to something. Taken to its logical extreme, however, Hinkie was wronged and we must constantly remind the masses who truly deserves credit for whatever comes next. I get it, because I myself am a Hinkie apologist.
Critics forget, Hinkie inherited a non-playoff team featuring Jrue Holiday, Thaddeus Young, Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes, the latter two on the final year of their contracts. He took over an organization that was without two of its own first-round picks.
Philadelphia 76ers
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia 76ers and their rivals in the NBA from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
In under three years, Hinkie turned such sparse resources into Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, payroll felxibility, a replenished cache of draft choices and now, finally, the number one selection overall.
Yet I find it impossible to go so far as to say Hinkie was wronged. Any way you slice it, he did construct a 10-win basektball team, one of the worst to ever step on the hardwood. As much as he deserved time for his plan to come to fruition, he needed to put a better product -- a competent product at least -- on the court in the meantime. And how can we ignore a lack of veteran presence that nearly allowed Okafor and perhaps other young players to come off the rails?
There were missteps along the way, and while Hinkie can claim bad luck in the way previous lotteries shook out, there's no denying a 47-199 record the last three years. He was partially a victim of circumstance, partially a victim of his own failures.
Hinkie is gone, and no amount of defenses mounted for his blueprint, the vaunted process, are going to bring him back. One day, it will be fun to look back on how his moves shaped a hopefully flourishing franchise. Until then, the Sixers' lottery win should put an end to the Hinkie talk, because right or wrong, there's no going back now.
