Sam Hinkie has left his position with the Philadelphia 76ers as general manager, and it was not on good terms.
The Philadelphia 76ers rebuilding process took a huge turn on Tuesday night, when it was reported by Marc Stein that the team’s general manager, Sam Hinkie, was stepping down from his position. This was a move that was anticipated by some, but still, the timing was very surprising to many.
This move came just a few days after Hinkie appeared on The Lowe Post podcast, which was surprising since it looked as if Hinkie was still comfortable in his role with the team. Now, it looks like that was a last ditch effort to revitalize the relationship between him and the Sixers.
Their relationship has been an odd one. Hinkie has pushed several fans away, while awakening a cult that has embraced three straight seasons of purposeful losing. But now that losing is all for nothing, so it seems at the moment.
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This was a relationship that was not working. Although some fans still had faith in Hinkie, the Sixers distrust in his plan working out had been clear since December this year. The team hired Jerry Colangelo, a hard working, experienced NBA higher-up to be Vice President of Basketball Operations. The team said that his hiring would not hurt Hinkie’s current role, but that was clearly untrue.
It is reported that the team was looking to hire another person to double up the general manager duties with Hinkie. That person was — and is — likely to be Bryan Colangelo, Jerry’s son.
I’m reminded of a few things with this situation. One, I’m reminded of the TV The Office, where Jim and Michael both try to be the regional manager. Having two guys do one job does not work. It never will. According to the implications of the reports, the ownership group expected that Hinkie would be okay splitting his duties with another person. That is preposterous.
Secondly, I’m reminded of how this is a lot like a romantic relationship. Hinkie couldn’t double up his relationship duties with another person. It’d be like dating a girl who has another boyfriend. You can’t have two general managers, that is not how any business works.
This clearly wasn’t working between Hinkie and the Sixers, and Hinkie basically said to them, “It’s not me, it’s you.”
Stein’s report on Hinkie leaving the team includes reports of a 13-page resignation from Hinkie after he felt it was time for him to go. 13 pages for something that could take one sentence (“I’m leaving my current position, thank you.”) is pretty wild. Hinkie comes off like the girlfriend that has to tell you every single time you were wrong when the breakup happens.
One of the excerpts included by Stein’s report starts with, “There has been much criticism of our approach. There will be more.” This seems to allude that Hinkie knows the team is making a mistake in forcing him out. He will take his talents elsewhere and watch the Sixers burn, is his hope. The other significant excerpt is this:
"Given all the changes to our organization, I no longer have the confidence that I can make good decisions on behalf of investors in the Sixers — you. So I should step down. And I have."
I’m not going to say writing a 13-page letter by Hinkie is as immature as a relationship that ends with a long text from one of the partners to the other that lets them know how the other partner did them so wrong. But it’s interesting to see the parallels.
The “Hinkie Pages” as I’m going to deem them are something we will probably never see, but I would love to see what else Hinkie left to the ownership group in his final words.
How this process ever would have turned out will be a mystery.