Did 76ers Hinkie Err By Not Re-signing Sixers?

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Dec 7, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie speaks to the media during a press conference to introduce Jerry Colangelo (not pictured) as special advisor before a game against the San Antonio Spurs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Did Philadelphia 76ers President And General Manager Sam Hinkie Err By Not Re-signing Sixers Players?

I covered the event as it happened. Sixers Deciding No Players Worth Re-signing was an article I had hoped might prompt some comments. Crickets. But the article had some points worth noting.

The team had an option on several players but did not show any interest in bringing them back. Of course some could be simply incompatible with the new team direction. Some could be a player valuing his services greater than the team. But the Sixers had surrendered Luc Mbah a Moute, JaVale McGee, Jason Richardson, Glenn Robinson, Thomas Robinson, Henry Sims, and Ish Smith to free agency. Of this group, only Mbah A Moute (failed a physical voiding deal with Sacramento Kings), Henry Sims, and Ish Smith were unsigned. How are the players doing in the NBA now?

Let’s set some background however. The Philadelphia 76ers were bad last year, and they were bad the previous year. In fact, the team has been on a slowly descending spiral and the actions of general manage Sam Hinkie merely accelerated the process to get to the bottom of the barrel. There’s really not much room left to go but up right now. At one win and 25 losses, you might think this team has made a mistake by surrendering talent without an effort to resign.

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But the fact of professional sports is that it has limits as to what you can do. It limits how much you can pay for players on your team via the salary cap. It limits how much playing time each player can get via five positions and game clock. But it also limits how many players you can take along for the ride. That’s where it becomes the task of the general manager of any professional sports team to blend veteran and youth, experience with development, production today with tomorrow’s promise. Sitting down to the Philadelphia 76ers depth chart this season shows that Philadelphia Sam Hinkie drove the team to the brink of young. Most players are no older than their early 20’s, and the team is unfamiliar with playing on the same side of the basketball court. Would keeping veterans have made a difference? Unlikely.

Both Sam Hinkie and Brett Brown are in synch, and they are working the roster to see who can play what position with which player. As painful as this may sound, it’s a dress rehersal folks. Live, in living color, cameras are rolling and it counts. The “process” has encountered some hiccups in the beginning of the season with injuries, but it continues to press on, simply placing bench players into starting roles until other players heal and can assume minutes. That process is an investment, time in a player’s development is an aggregate benefit. The more time a player plays on a basketball court when they enter the NBA, the better they eventually become.

So the roster filled with young players should improve over time. Signing players who have been in the league may be more consistant, but after five or so years the players potential is realized. If they do not show signs of super-stardom by then, it’s a safe bet to say it won’t happen. So it was with the seven players who did not remain with the Sixers. How are they faring?

Next: Luc Mbah a Moute