With recent developments in the Philadelphia 76ers front office, fans are divided with which executive they side with. Why should we have to choose either one?
The Philadelphia 76ers have had an interesting year, and their rebuilding process has certainly closed one chapter and opened another. Strangely enough, both of the chapters I am referencing include Ish Smith being on the team in two separate occasions through two separate trades. This is the first season that Jerry Colangelo is a member of the Sixers’ front office, and the first season Sam Hinkie isn’t alone driving the “Trust the Process” bus.
It took a season, but some fans started to side with Hinkie greatly last year after he traded away Michael Carter-Williams. The trade was one fans were upset about at first, but then looking at all of the first round draft picks the Sixers had for years to come, they weren’t so upset with how this Hinkie character’s plan was shaping up.
But when the Sixers went 1-30 this season, it was clear to the front office that perhaps the Sixers were too bad. They brought in Jerry Colangelo, a 76 year old basketball mind that has been in the league in several capacities, and helped revitalize the Team USA basketball team.
Colangelo was brought in, and from the start owner Josh Harris, Colangelo, and Hinkie all said that this didn’t mean Hinkie’s role was being compromised. But later developments would say otherwise.
First Colangelo traded for Ish Smith, a player the Sixers passed up on in the offseason. Colangelo sent away two of Hinkie’s coveted second-round draft picks in return for Smith. Then the Sixers were on record saying they weren’t looking to make any big moves at the deadline, another non-Hinkie type of thing to say.
And to put the icing on the cake, Philly.com put out an article titled “Jerry Colangelo is shrinking role for Sam Hinkie,” some words straight from a nightmare for some Sixers fans who have been backing Hinkie for the past few seasons. Don’t get too excited about this though. This article really just summarizes what Colangelo has done thus far and speculates a few words that Colangelo said during All-Star weekend. Colangelo said he is looking to hire a “basketball mind,” to the front office, which, as the Philly.com article assumes, means that Hinkie’s current staff that he has built has not been enough.
I believe fans have gone into this new chapter of the rebuild assuming that there has to be a divide between Hinkie and Colangelo. Fans think they can not stand behind both, they must choose which team and which rebuilding ideology they want to support. Many have sided with Hinkie, but those that have been against Hinkie this whole time are happy there is an alternative. This makes me think of a house divided, and how toxic it would be for this team if the front office is really as divided as we think it is.
Choosing sides is dangerous within one organization. We choose sides when it’s one team against another. There is no siding with Hinkie or siding with Colangelo here. We side with the Sixers, and whatever move is in the better interest of the team’s future.
For those of you who think Sam Hinkie’s time is done, it’s not. If that was the case Josh Harris would have fired him when Colangelo was hired. The need for a better reputation is not so high that they need to keep a high-level executive that has no power any longer. And Colangelo is definitely exercising power, but let’s remember he’s still finding his way with this team and how he wants to make his presence known.
We have two very smart men running this basketball team, combining their different skills and connections to make the future of this team bright. There is no reason to think that they can not work in harmony. Don’t choose sides.