Recent Rumors of Sam Hinkie links to the Sacramento Kings are swirling. But even if he is given demigod status in an NBA team’s front office, he will need a clone of Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown
When Philadelphia 76ers former president and general manager hired Brett Brown to be the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, he was focusing on a head coach whose ability to develop raw talent into NBA caliber players.
At the time, winning was not an immediate issue. In fact, under Sam Hinkie’s three year reign, winning never became a reality. The team cast a wide as possible net into the cracks and crevices of the NBA. Trolling the NBA draft second round, chumming players from the ranks of the undrafted, Hinkie was simply fishing where other teams were not.
When you fish for franchise players, you don’t try to drop lines in the same spots 29 other NBA team are fishing. But that simply meant the Philadelphia 76ers rosters swelled with talent believed to be unworthy of NBA level of competition.
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So Hinkie’s role was bargain shopper. He looked for undervalued talent in the damnedest places. And he assembled that talent onto the roster of the Philadelphia 76ers. While league executives watched in horror, the 76ers amassed draft picks, and cut team payroll.
Officially, the NBA did not condone the practice. But when an individual NBA team needed to dump horrifically overpriced contracts, they came to the Philadelphia 76ers and paid the price.
More draft picks.
Brett Brown Right Coach For Job
All the while, NBA teams said Hinkie’s approach could never work. And Sam Hinkie needed a coach to prove 29 other NBA teams wrong. Brett Brown was such a head coach. Fundamentally elite in the skills needed in the NBA, eternally optimistic, patient, and never flustered. He was the key to everything Sam Hinkie needed in a head coach. Particularly the “never flustered” aspect.
Well almost never. He had moments when he questioned the logic of trading some players he had developed.
"“When you start losing people that you are very fond of and have tremendous respect for, there is a human side of it that bothers me because you are trying to grow chemistry, you are trying to grow a culture. That takes a hit when teammates lose teammates. There is a respect, effort-wise, of how they go about their business. There is a reality to our job that is just business in the NBA, but it doesn’t mean it has to feel right.” – Brett Brown"
But he always pressed forward. He spoke his mind and let it go. But it was too much upon the shoulders of one man, so much so that we began to ask how much more could Brown endure.
And then 2017 happened. Since then, this team has been 20-23. And that is no accident. This is still a team of undrafted and second round players. And of course, two red-shirted rookies debuted as well. But this team doesn’t turn the corner without Brett Brown.
Hinkie One Half of Success Equation
Sam Hinkie deserves a great deal of credit for his innovative strategy to rebuilding an NBA team from ashes. He had a plan and delivered on all counts. Whether is was the off-court issues of Jahlil Okafor, or the wearing down of the ownership under NBA pressure, he was defrocked before he could see the story through to the end.
But now, it seems that the NBA has forgiven Sam Hinkie enough for teams to discuss openly about the possibility of hiring Sam Hinkie into an NBA role again.
Story posting now: League sources tell @ZachLowe_NBA and me that the Kings have received permission to speak to former Sixers GM Sam Hinkie.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 27, 2017
Will he take the plunge once more? If he does, he had better have a head coach along the lines of Brett Brown’s clone already lined up. Without a willing head coach, the team implodes.
76ers of Feather, Flock Together
If you don’t take my word for it, you may be surprised to discover I am not alone. Section 215’s George Kondoleon has an article out on what an incredible asset Brett Brown is to have on a rebuilding team. It’s definitely worth a read.
PistonPowered
On the same day, Phillyvoice.com’s Rich Hofmann has a very complimentary article up about head coach Brett Brown as well. It’s also a very good read.
So why are three of your favorite Philadelphia 76ers writers all jumping to embellish Brown? Simply stated, the rise of interest in the NBA over the presumed success of Sam Hinkie’s efforts with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Sam Hinkie laid out the blueprints of the championship team. He even stocked up on talent and currency to complete the project. But make no bones about it. He was not the contractor tasked with building it. That falls, then, now, and into the foreseeable future, upon Brett Brown.
Hinkie made the choice wisely. He did not look at a wins and losses, but rather focused on the attributes of a winning coach in the NBA. He sought a coach from a winning coach’s tree, one with patience, great understanding of the game, and a bit of an innovator. He needed optimism, as well as a bit of a curious natured gent. In the end, the search ended at one man. Brett Brown.
Why I don’t want Sam Hinkie back in the NBA this year
Now that the roster is starting to congeal and players have begun to return to play for Brown, the team is showing drastic improvement. In fact, the team has registered 20 wins to 23 losses in 2017. If you hadn’t heard, this team routinely suits up ten players now. The others? Either out due to temporary injury or lost for the season.
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In any case, wins continue. And it’s due to the patience of a head coach who smiles throughout at ten win season, and keeps hammering on basketball fundamentals.
28 wins may not cause celebration for many, but it’s an incredible improvement for this team in one year. That same improvement next season places the team on a trajectory for 45 wins. That level of success is only enjoyed by the top teams of the NBA. And Brett Brown is our head coach, the man responsible for it all.
Some applaud the chance of Sam Hinkie returning to the NBA. Some fear it, knowing the team’s likely to bring him in are without draft picks. And if the 76ers hold any of those picks, Hinkie will find a way to get them back. Permanently.
But the true reason I want Sam Hinkie on the sidelines is head coach Brett Brown. For Sam Hinkie to succeed in the NBA, he needs Brett Brown. Right now, the Philadelphia 76ers need Brett Brown too. I do not want to test Bryan Colangelo’s willingness to outbid for the services of a head coach he didn’t hire.
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I love the job Sam Hinkie did. I love the job Brett Brown is doing. Most of all, I love the Philadelphia 76ers.