The once-proud Philadelphia 76ers franchise has become a bad joke, and at the helm of it all since the 2013 offseason was general manager Sam Hinkie who was brought on to get things turned around in a long-term project.
Said project appears to be coming to an abrupt end though, as ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting Hinkie is going to step down from his post with the Sixers.
His time in Philly has been nothing but a disaster — between failed draft picks, bad trades and bad contracts being stuck on the bench or IR. The Sixers haven’t sniffed the playoffs in Hinkie’s short tenure in Philly, but he certainly has shaped the futility of this team over the past few years.
It all started in the summer of 2013, where he traded star Jrue Holiday and the 42nd pick in the then just-completed draft to the New Orleans Pelicans for Nerleans Noel and the Pelicans’ 2014 1st round draft pick.
That move signaled the end for most of the returning players on the Sixers’ roster, and futility was the norm even with the team racking up high lottery draft picks ever since then.
The 76ers have had 13 total draft picks in the past two seasons alone, but there have been plenty of busts amongst them. Chief in that category is the No. 3 pick in the 2015 draft, Jahlil Okafor. He’s spent most of his time injured and in the news for all the wrong reasons.
Given all of that, it shouldn’t have been surprising to hear of the news that Bryan Colangelo (update: sounds like he’ll transition to be the new GM) had joined the organization back in December. It was a clear cry for help for an organization going nowhere fast, and this move by Hinkie may have been one to save the embarrassment of being fired.
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However, what is really curious is the timing, especially after Hinkie gave an interview just yesterday talking about the offseason plans for the organization. It certainly didn’t sound like a guy on his way out of the Sixers’ plans.
As a sporting city, Philadelphia has seen a lot of upheaval in its leadership amongst the major sports teams in the area. In fact, Hinkie’s departure makes it three in a row since last October alone.
Ruben Amaro was let go by the Phillies and Chip Kelly was canned by the Eagles shortly after their season ended to go along with the Hinkie news of today. With a lot of turmoil surrounding Philly sports, Villanova’s championship season certainly helps take the sting off of the failings of the pro franchises.