Philadelphia 76ers Express Appreciation For Sam Hinkie

Sam Hinkie’s mark was left on this team when he left. The day after his resignation, several players expressed gratitude for his belief in them.

Sam Hinkie is no longer with the Philadelphia 76ers. Hinkie resigned on Wednesday in the form of a 13-page resignation letter that left a lot of questions as to what was ahead for this basketball team.

It also left a lot of problems for a lot of people. Some of those questions surround the jobs of NBA players as well as coaches. Will Brett Brown be here next year or even next week? Will the players be around for much longer either?

One of Sam Hinkie’s best qualities within this radical rebuilding process was finding talent that no one else could. Within his 13-page resignation letter, Hinkie detailed how he was proud of what he was able to do with the Sixers organization, especially regarding finding players that were diamonds in the rough.

"We also put ourselves into position to draft in the second round, where we found two 22-year-old gems to date, including Jerami Grant (#39) and Richaun Holmes (#37). Outside of the top 60 selections delivered two more players with real NBA futures in 24-year-old T.J. McConnell and 25-year-old Robert Covington."

Robert Covington, Jerami Grant, and T.J. McConnell are all players that may not have seen an NBA court anywhere else in the NBA. But Hinkie saw something in these players, and was willing to give them a shot in Philadelphia. For all three of those players, that shot played out very well, and because of that, they will find careers in the NBA whether it be with the Sixers or elsewhere.

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Jerami Grant is a defensive monster, in the top-15 of the NBA in total blocks. Robert Covington is an impressive offensive player with a solid 3-point shot. T.J. McConnell looks for the best in his teammates, and passes the ball like not many other point guards can.

Do these guys have their flaws? Of course, but the rebuild was all about developing these players and minimizing those flaws while maximizing their positive components.

Hinkie was the man who believed in these players when no one else did.

I remember going to my first Sixers game at the Wells Fargo Center in the fall, and speaking to Sixers CEO Scott O’Neil. McConnell had just put up back-to-back games with 12 assists, and everyone was caught off guard with what this undrafted rookie was doing for the Sixers backcourt. I asked Scott if he was surprised, and he told me he was.

Talking more to Scott, though, he told me there were two men in the Sixers organization that were not at all surprised in McConnell’s production. Those men were Sam Hinkie and Brett Brown.

Hinkie wasn’t just a believer in these players, he was good at predicting what they would be able to do, and that’s why he found so many “diamonds” in the rough. He didn’t just get lucky, he was brilliant. The Sixers lost a great basketball mind on April 6th when Hinkie resigned.

Those players were disappointed to see Sam go, but expressed their gratefulness to what he had done and the opportunities he had given them.

Jerami Grant does confirm Sam Hinkie was at PCOM today. Said they shook hands, wished him luck.
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) April 7, 2016

Cov: "Sam has given a lot of guys opportunities, including me."
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) April 7, 2016

Sam was in the practice facility on Thursday, likely to get some closure and say goodbye for good. Sam shook Jerami Grant’s hand and said goodbye. He did not address the team as a whole, but what he did for a lot of these players was incredible.

The players benefited most from Sam’s role with the team. He was great to them, and no other general manager has ever taken an approach that was so friendly to players looking for work.