In previous seasons, the Philadelphia 76ers have been the team with the fewest wins. But somehow the team seemed to be “fun”. This year, however, the locker room is filled with controversy despite the team showing more promise than ever.
Be careful what you wish for, you just may get it. In the case of the Philadelphia 76ers, this applies more to ownership than fans.
For three years, the Philadelphia 76ers took on a hiatus from “winning is everything”.
Perhaps it was the presumption that the team could win nothing. It may have been the realization from the 2013 NBA Draft and foreward that the team was okay with selecting talent who would only play for the team “in the future”. Perhaps it was the fact that the team’s front office was run by a “numbers guy”, a man named Sam Hinkie who would drop everything to talk to the players. Hinkie’s style was examining shot charts and workout videos in the back room, and then just casual conversation court-side.
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To the fan, to the players, to the front office, and to the media, it was shangri-la.
But as is the case of all good things, they come to an end.
It began this season. Coincidence that it’s going down on the watch of Hinkie’s predecessor, Bryan Colangelo? Perhaps.
What many attribute to the frustration of significant losing on the basketball court is beginning to surface in the public eye. It began when Nerlens Noel, entering his contract year, unleashed a tirade of second guessing the front office moves to the media.
Shangri-la no more.