Sam Hinkie Innovated More Than Player Selection

Tethered

In the third year of the rebuild, Philadelphia 76er majority owner suddenly had a change of heart. Despite the team’s amassing draft picks, shedding salary cap dollars, and generating a focus point of 2016 to reverse the descent, he became anxious over news that recently drafted Jahlil Okafor had several incidents off-court which placed the Philadelphia 76ers in a bad light.   From that  realization that the team was filled with more youth than mentors, with more analytics than basketball minds, Harris reached out to former Phoenix Suns owner and general manager Jerry Colangelo to reset the team on course for their date with championship caliber play.  Jerry Colangelo was a jock, a former basketball player who rose through the ranks of the NBA to become head coach, general manager, and ultimately owner, of the Phoenix Suns.  His was the hands-on approach.  He is the master of gut instincts, hand shake deals which were quite popular in the 1970’s.

But for all the roles and all the accolades, his team never won an NBA championship.  Its the random nature of professional sports that makes the pinnacle so rare, and so precious.

He consented and assumed a new role as Chairman of Basketball Operations for the Philadelphia 76ers.   In that role, he was given authority to oversee the actions and decisions of Sam Hinkie, but not on a day to day role.  You see, he would remain in his home in Phoenix, and be used in those occasions of team actions and transactions.   In his public statement, Jerry Colangelo appeared to be serving in the role of statesman, an enlightened despot who would evaluate the team, collaborate with Brett Brown and Sam Hinkie, and arrive at a consensus for moves to improve the team going forward.

He met with Brett Brown, and immediately thereafter reached out to former Phoenix Suns coach Mike D’Antoni to assume an assistant head coach role with the team.   He encouraged the team to trade for point guard Ish Smith from the New Orleans Pelicans, a player who knew the Sixers well and whose initial burst of energy onto the roster resulted in a mini-streak of competitive basketball. He encouraged the team to sign venerable power forward Elton Brand, a veteran who would join the team and help to smooth the transition to the NBA for younger players like Jahlil Okafor.

All the while, the rumors of Jerry Colangelo bringing his son, and former Phoenix Sun general manager Bryan Colangelo to the team haunted Sam Hinkie.   That rumor only needed four months to become fact, as the news reached the ears of Hinkie, he chose to resign rather than fight the age old battles of jock versus geek once more.  His science and strategy was based on admission of the risks, and embracing them.  His science and strategy was based on using the urgency of other NBA teams against them.  By going against the odds time and time again, Sam Hinkie proved to be a man who seldom made flawed decisions.  That strategy was purposeful.   In hopes to avoid competing with other NBA teams in his strategy, the plan was disguised in the ruse of delivering a poorly structured basketball team.  The disguise was so effective, even ownership began to doubt the outcome.

Next: Dormancy before Delivery