The Sixer Sense
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Philadelphia 76ers: The Process Meant To Work For Post LeBron James Dominance

By Lucas Johnson

Mar 31, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) shoots over the defense of Philadelphia 76ers center Tiago Splitter (47) during the first half at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 31, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) shoots over the defense of Philadelphia 76ers center Tiago Splitter (47) during the first half at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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Former GM Sam Hinkie’s “The Process” was premised around the Philadelphia 76ers rise that co-en sided with LeBron James‘ decline.

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James is the King in Cleveland and in the eastern conference. LeBron James dominates the NBA.  As long as he does, there is little chance for any team to beat them in a playoff series. And the Philadelphia 76ers are counting on that.

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Personally I just came to this realization recently. You may judge me, but I am always hopelessly optimistic when it comes to the leagues’ competitiveness.

Hinkie’s Plan

It is almost for certain that former Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie had this realization way before I did and when Lebron was still with the Miami Heat.

Every move that Hinkie made was towards making sure that the Sixers came together in the future.   The team would not start reaching a contending level until Lebron James age finally caught up with him.

In 2013, Sam Hinkie took over as president and general manager for the Philadelphia 76ers.  Meanwhile, he must have seen what LeBron was doing with his “big 3”. James was on a roll for a second consecutive championship with the Heat when Hinkie took the job. Hinkie is no fool. Ergo, he quickly realized that Sixers needed a major rebuild after the Andrew Bynum fiasco. He also realized the impenetrable wall of LeBron James.  No rebuilding team possessed the speed and ceiling required to consistently beat a LeBron lead team. Facing that wall, a long term tank offered the only path to success.

Proof In The Transactions

Hinkie was apart of a great franchise in the Houston Rockets before joining the Philadelphia 76ers. The Rockets front office is no joke.  In fact, they are top of the line even to this day. Hinkie knew how to build a team based off what he was doing with the Rockets before taking over the Sixers. Then why collect young players and draft picks? It gave Hinkie time to experiment and buy his time as LeBron continued to age.

He was able to trade away Michael Carter-Williams reigning rookie of the year, because he knew Carter-Williams was not a long term solution.  To beat the Cavaliers, he had time to find the right point guard. On top of that, he could gamble on injured players like Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid, because LeBron was still dominating. He able to let a high pick like Dario Saric stay overseas for two year based on the fact Lebron was still in his prime. Drafting Jahlil Okafor would allow him to trade the Duke center in time, because he new there was no way the Sixers could not compete against LeBron yet.

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Next: Philadelphia 76ers: Oladipo for Okafor In Three Team Trade

Hinkie Patient For LeBron’s Fade

Hinkie knew he had to wait out LeBron James until father time caught up with the superstar.

Sadly, at the time nobody else had the patience that Hinkie had to wait the for the King to put down his crown. He lost his job because of it. “The Process” Hinkie put into motion may end up coming into fruition.

The Philadelphia 76ers are still a few years away from being a legit contender and Lebron will turn 33 years old by the end of 2017. With that in mind the Sixers could be challenging for the championship by the time Lebron hits his mid to late 30’s at that point.  Should that happen, a forgotten Hinkie is the person to thank should the Sixers win a championship with it’s current core.