The Upside of the Philadelphia 76ers Future

There may be an upside to the Philadelphia 76ers future, despite a rough past week.

This past week has been a rough one on the fans of the Philadelphia 76ers. After watching their team just barely avoid tying the worst ever NBA record, and seeing them lose nearly every game this season, their general manager, Sam Hinkie, stepped down from his position with the team.

Hinkie gave the ownership group a 13-year letter that was quite interesting to read. Hinkie was a character, and he had a lot of supporters behind him.

What was interesting about this resignation was that the cult of Hinkie followers was beginning to really take off after even the most speculative people had changed their mind about Hinkie, thinking he was onto something. But hiring Jerry Colangelo in December would be the start of Hinkie’s fall, and now his son Bryan Colangelo will likely be taking over as general manager.

Overall, the future of the team seems dark. It seems like all of this losing was for nothing. I get it. As I said the night of the news breaking:

This Sixers situation is like when I stood in line for Fetty Wap tickets for 2 hours and he got hit by a car and the concert got cancelled.
— Josh Wilson (@J_WilsonSports) April 7, 2016

Really, it is a crappy situation. To go through so much pain over the last three years and think that something good was coming out of it only to see the man behind the plan leave is troubling. To see him leave right before the most pivotal offseason of the process so far is even more troubling.

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At the same time, when you’ve only compiled just over 40 wins over three consecutive seasons, it shouldn’t be a surprise that someone’s authority and “master plan” is coming into question. That doesn’t justify the blatant nepotism going on in the Sixers executive offices right now, but Hinkie definitely did not show progress as far as wins go, ever.

On top of the Hinkie situation, Nerlens Noel was recently reported to be under a lawsuit for leaving his rental property in such bad condition upon moving out. Secondly, fans are thinking of a future where they have to trade a big man away, and an upcoming draft that could result in the Sixers drafting fourth overall despite having the worst record in the NBA.

It’s hard to see anything but darkness coming over the next few years right now. It seems like the Sixers ownership group is putting the Sixers in a position to lose with no intention to ever overcome the losing. But maybe there is a bright part to the Sixers future.

What’s important to note is that just because Hinkie is gone, doesn’t mean what he put in place is. Yes, the ideas that the Colangelo family and the ideas Hinkie have obviously don’t coincide, but they can look at certain things the same way. One of those things is assets.

Hinkie has put the Sixers in a position to have a possible four first round draft picks this season, as well as so many players that they can use on the court or trade away to other teams. Hinkie prided himself in having the “longest view in the room,” in his 13-page resignation letter.

"Jeff Bezos says that if Amazon has a good quarter it’s because of work they did 3, 4, 5 years ago—not because they did a good job that quarter. Today’s league-leading Golden State Warriors acquired Draymond Green, Andrew Bogut, and Klay Thompson almost 4 years ago, nearly 4 years ago exactly, and almost 5 years ago. In this league, the long view picks at the lock of mediocrity."

This longest view in the room gives the Sixers so many moving pieces that can be a part of a winning team in, as Hinkie says, probably 4 or 5 years. Who will get credited with the Sixers possible success? Likely Colangelo, but some will remember the mastermind, Hinkie.

Sam’s pride in this team allows him to leave without much negativity towards the team. Although he is no longer with the team, he is still proud of what he’s made, and Sixers fans should be as well.

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Yes, a new face will be coming in to take over Sam’s now vacant position. Yes, the Colangelo’s handled this situation, as well as many others, incorrectly. But what’s important to remember is that the future of this team was carved out by Sam Hinkie, and his influence of building this franchise will go much deeper than his resignation day of April 6th. Hinkie made this team, and just as Steve Jobs’ influence is largely felt in today’s Apple Keynotes, Hinkie’s work will not be unnoticed in the next few years of Sixers success.