April 6, 2025. The day “The Process” died.
Around 8:30 tonight, my biggest fear as a Sixers fan came true, Sam Hinkie is no longer the general manager.
The ownership group knew what they were signing up for when they hired Sam Hinkie before the 2013 NBA draft. Hinkie had outlined his plan as one that would completely tear down the perennial 8 seed, to acquire assets to build them back up. And for three years, that is what Hinkie did. He had gotten Nerlens Noel , Jahlil Okafor , Joel Embiid , Dario Saric , the Lakers pick, and the worst record this season.
However, the pressure put on him by ownership and Jerry Colangelo was too much for him to handle. The process that Hinkie had begun, with a clear plan to it, has been thrown out the window too early. If you could go through the three years of tanking, why did they all of the sudden become impatient and just end it? This is something that happens with bad ownership groups.
What do bad ownership groups do in the NBA? They get away from what works. What was working for the Sixers was Sam Hinkie conning people out of trades. He flipped an overrated Michael Carter-Williams , who by the way is going to get replaced at point guard by Giannis Antetokounmpo , for a pick that is almost guaranteed to be top five next season. Hinkie traded Jrue Holiday for a player in Nerlens Noel that has much more of an impact on a basketball game. Now, according to Marc Stein, the arrival of Bryan Colangelo as the Sixers next GM is “imminent.” Yes, the same Bryan Colangelo that drafted Andrea Bargnani with the first pick in the draft.
Perhaps the thing that gets to me the most is that Jerry Colangelo did not even consider interviewing any other candidates, He just went to the person that could be his puppet, his son. The man that is living in Arizona, has hijacked the 76ers, and has now hired his son to be the general manager. Now, the thing that Sixers fans did not think would happen with Hinkie, has become a real fear again. The fear of being mediocre. At least Hinkie is leaving the Sixers having left so many assets for the team to use. This makes it nearly impossible to not be a contender one day.
At least, that’s what I hope.
The worst part about this is that if it works, Colangelo will get all of the credit. If it doesn’t, Hinkie will get all of the blame.
Trust the Process