In a thirteen page resignation letter, Sam Hinkie detailed his approach to rebuilding the Philadelphia 76ers. More than a resignation letter, it is a blueprint for professional sports for non-athletes.
It is reflected in the cinema industry. It is reflected in the scholastic achievement. 40 years ago, being labeled a “geek” relegated a person to one of the most unpopular cliques in school. In fact “geek” originated from the German word “Geck” meaning “fool”. The word has been in active use for over 50 years, even being used in a recording of “rasslings” Classy Freddie Blassie “Pencil Necked Geek” in 1970s. In high school in the 70’s, you were either a jock or a geek. If you were a jock, you were athletic, and your scholastics centered around organized sports. If you were a geek, your scholastics centered around clubs – science clubs, computer clubs, chess clubs. But since the turn of the century, the entire genre of “Geek” has grown somewhat in meaning. In light of the technological advances, the term geek has evolved into the software/hardware chic power brokers of the futuristic economy.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Mirium Hong Kong’s Win Mak, Apple’s Steve Jobs, Microsoft’s Bill Gates are all associated with the term, and they are all very powerful and very wealthy.
But as the power shifts from those who are connected, who work with their hands, and who follow the old school notion of blood and guts, to those who invent, overthink, read, and calculate, one industry has resisted technological innovations and influence: professional sports. In the new popularity of super-hero movies originating from the comic book pages of teen age introvers, to the amassing of wealth as science and commerce are turned on their ear by the rapid innovations of “geeks”, the notion of being a geek no longer translates into a helpless introvert who is stuffed into a high school locker as a prank by high school football players. The age of the geek, and all of the computer technology and apps that go with it, have arrived.
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It’s perhaps that social impact which polarized the NBA, analysts, and the fan base. You see, no group surrenders power willingly. In the past 20 years, “geeks” have quietly taken over as they have accumulated wealth from their innovative way of thinking, creating, and inventing. And now, in the past three years, “geeks” had invaded the very fabric of the NBA, the last bastion of the “jocks”. Sam Hinkie, in his ascension to the heights of the NBA as president and general manager of one of the top five basketball markets in the world, could now show the remainder of the NBA the flaws of their thinking, and their system. In his hiring, Sam Hinkie revolutionized the NBA way of thinking. It was no longer about signing the best talent in the NBA. In the world of Sam Hinkie, the team signed talent and then developed them to the best of their abilities.
He signed injured players and bet on restoring them to health. He signed international players, using their presence on other continents as a way of growing his available roster within the rules of the league. He signed undrafted players to lucrative incentived contracts, offering premium dollars to ensure the team friendly aspects if and when the player developed into a true NBA caliber talent, and he welcomed overpaid player contracts from other teams , as long as that team paid the price of such a service – NBA draft picks. You see, the man saw further ahead than most. He saw that the ultimate goal of winning championships mandated teams to forego winning games temporarily.
And the NBA didn’t like it. They didn’t like it one bit.
Next: Tethered
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
Dormancy before delivery
Sam Hinkie is not a “guts and glory” general manager. His is the style of a chess player. If you doubt that claim, follow the transactions made in the 2013 NBA draft in the second round. He made moves not for the team itself, but in a complex weaving of prospects who would be valued by other teams. Select a player, trade that player for a draft pick, select that new player, trade, select. In fact, the second round, typically the round nobody follows, had become an incredibly entertaining chapter when Sam Hinkie began working his magic.
Many saw it as confusion. Some saw it as panic. But to the minds in the room that followed the logic, it was a symphony of playing the odds.
The team that Hinkie inherited was flat-lined folks. After years of chasing wins, the team had fallen to no available salary cap, no draft picks to speak of (remember the Moultrie and Bynum trades) and no young players in the pipeline. The Bynum and Moultrie trades, by the way, were highly touted by the “basketball guys” who now deride the efforts made by Sam Hinkie. Neither trade improved anything, but began the painful spiral downward that resulted in Sam Hinkie’s arrival.
At 34 wins, the Philadelphia 76ers were on the same trajectory as the Sacramento Kings. Sign a free agent looking to restore his name in the NBA, trade draft picks to a contender for the rights to an All-Star player, realizing the player was a result of a better team and be disappointed. Trade player for minimal compensation. Try again by trading for or signing the next ‘hot name” to show up in the stat stars of the NBA.
It was a vicious cycle.
But the methods of Hinkie’s plan requires long range planning. As such, it was vulnerable to other teams mimicry if it appeared to be too effective too quickly. So the great hustle began. Hinkie drafted players to a future date, not present. He traded for point guard Elfrid Payton to the Orlando Magic for power forward Dario Saric, which also netted the team’s own first round draft pick back from the Magic. So far Payton has done a fair job for the Magic, but he’s in the “Ish Smith” ish category. He’s young and improving, but hardly the point guard of a championship team just yet.
He brought on Joel Embiid despite the risks of health. To counter those, he’s invested heavily in sports science and sports medicine – virtually integrating the NBA with advanced medical technologies. That is what a “geek” brings to the NBA. And while these events transpired, the NBA watch and scoffed, victims of their own “win now” mentality, never fully understanding the calm before the storm that Sam Hinkie was brewing.
Dormancy is part of any healing process. It allows an entity to repair, and then begin to grow in a positive direction undisturbed by forces that act against it. It is a natural path to progress. But it gives the perception of hesitancy, confusion, and vulnerability to those who would simply take action. Win Now mentalities, who act first and ask questions later. Jerry Colangelo was not impressed by neither the science nor the math of the process.
Next: We Can Relate
We Can Relate
Despite the basketball minds that found fault with the appearance of a lack of competitiveness of the Philadlephia 76ers, there was a large part of the fanbase that become part of the “Trust The Process”. The geeks of the basketball fan base found perfect logic in this strategy. Much like the game of chess, to win the game you must often willingly sacrifice key pieces to set up the opponent to checkmate. The goal of the game of chess is NOT to capture pieces, but to capture crowns – on the head of the opponents king.
Sam Hinkie simply delivered that new understanding to the game of basketball to replace the existing rules. The ultimate goal of basketball is to be crowned as the NBA championship team. Interim wins or losses are temporary measures of how well the team performs at that moment in time. When you are a very bad team with no players in development, no salary dollars to spend in free agency, and no draft picks to use in rebuilding the team, you are stuck.
The rules of chess changed all that. Those who read, who program, who play video games, who enjoy super hero movies, or even who have an incredible knack for any math or science disciplines get that. And as a result, we gravitated to the Sam Hinkie 76ers.
For as much of the fan base that doesn’t understand, enjoy, or appreciate the methods of Sam Hinkie, there are just as many who don’t understand why every NBA team is not employing a similar strategy. As the Avengers became popular on the movie screen, Sam Hinkie gained a following in the Philadelphia 76ers fan base. This is a new market, an untapped source of revenue for the NBA. Programmers, medical sciences, statisticians, and even financiers – any profession which relies heavily on math or technology. For the first time in NBA history, the logic of delay gratification – of using a chess-like mentality – became the focus of an NBA team.
Next: Can't Put This Genie Back Into The Lamp
Can’t Put This Genie Back Into The Lamp
The words of Jerry Colangelo were as predictable as the eventual resignation of Sam Hinkie. These were the words that gave it all away:
"“I think that any time you have an opportunity to enhance your organization, and you bring people in to accomplish that, you consider it. Big time. You really do,” Colangelo said. “And I think in our case we have a very bright young guy in Sam Hinkie, who holds the title of president and GM, and in his space he’s really strong. One could build a case for saying you’d like to have more people added who have experience in other aspects of those jobs. That’s the kind of conversation that’s going on. The first step was me being asked to come in, because of my experience, to maybe help and add to the mix. And the question you’re asking is, ‘is there a need or requirement for someone else?’ Maybe. Probably. That’s all being discussed…. I’m just saying adding people to the front office. And that’s not demeaning who we have. You want to be strong. If your goal is you want to be in the Finals… you have to take all the steps required to become that. I’d like to hear people say ‘they’ve got the strongest front office in the league.’ That’s a goal. That’s an objective. So it’s going to require more people to make that happen. That’s all.”"
At the time it was easy to interpret this as new players, perhaps via a trade or via free agency. But now, in hindsight, one can read the words of a father seeing a chance to reunite with his beloved son once more. In the words of “Is there a need or requirement for someone else?” , you can see the beachhead of the father creating a place in the organization for his son to swoop in and take over in areas of basketball operations.
Colangelo looked at the process, but did not see. He heard the sales pitch of Sam Hinkie, but he did not listen. He thought about the plans of Sam Hinkie, but he never understood. In Jerry Colangelo’s world, a handshake deal supersedes the contract. Gut instinct supercedes basketball analytics. Signing NBA talent and dealing with other NBA general managers was always about the relationship building process, and never the cold and calculated matrices spewed from a computer program.
And in some ways he is right. It takes both. But that is not the organization chart of the Philadelphia 76ers going forward. Executive Jerry Colangelo gets information from his son, general manager Bryan Colangelo who gets information from the Scouting department who gets their information from the basketball analytics department. After seeing the light of day for three years, owner Joshua Harris and executive Jerry Colangelo wanted to push Hinkie’s genie back into the lamp.
Next: Wasted On The Way
Wasted On the Way
Now that Analytics and long range stratgies have been unleasehed onto the NBA, it won’t go back there again. The world of analytics and sports science and medicine and world class training facility has arrived into the NBA, and with it the following of the vast numbers and resources of the non-athletes. Despite the efforts of Joshua Harris’ mercenaries, the Colangelos, to strong-arm the teams front office back to yesteryear of handshakes, gut-instincts, and atta-boys, the pressure is now on them. Even a monkey and a dart board could improve the Philadelphia 76ers next season. With Embiid, Saric and as many as four first round draft picks, the team has no excuse for not improving. But if there is a hiccup in the progress, the fan base will turn rabid on those who have taken over.
For nearly three years, the NBA had embraced the counter-athlete. The chess player, book reader, computer programmer, pocket protected geeks who have risen in popularity in recent years. For three years, professional basketball opened the back door, and allowed spreadsheets, shot charts, matrices, graphics and computer simulations to assist in the day to day and strategic planning of an NBA team.
The epitome of the geek counter culture was Sam Hinkie sitting in the seat of Philadelphia 76ers team president and general manager. For all of the “basketball minds” screaming for his ouster – the George Karls and the Stephen A Smiths of the world, your NBA has been restored to the “win now” mindset. Your discomfort with having someone planning two steps ahead of your ability to reason is over now.
Next: When Did Sam Hinkie Decide To Resign?
But for those of us who believed in the process, it all seems like time that we’ve wasted on the way. Sam Hinkie gave opportunities to overlooked athletes and non-athletes to participate in the closed circle of the NBA. Perhaps it was his generosity of sharing the glory of the sport that resulted in his eventual exclusion from it. I usually have a great line to end a story with, but on this one, I don’t. I don’t think it’s over yet. Oh perhaps for two years, the Colangelos will make moves and the team will improve rapidly – more from the momentum of so much to spend than on any incredible mastery of insider knowledge. Instead, I’ll close with the lyrics of a song that seems to capture the tone of the organization right now. It was written by Graham Nash, and sung in 1982 by the group Crosby Still and Nash :
Look around me, I can see my life before me
Running rings around the way it used to be
I am older now I have more than what I wanted
But I wish that I had started long before I did
And there’s so much time to make up everywhere you turn
Time we have wasted on the way
So much water moving underneath the bridge
Let the water come and carry us away
Oh when you were young did you question all the answers
Did you envy all the dancers who had all the nerve?
Look round you now, you must go for what you wanted
Look at all my friends who did and got what they deserved
So much time to make up everywhere you turn
Time we have wasted on the way
So much water moving underneath the bridge
Let the water come and carry us away