76ers general manager Sam Hinkie resigns
The 76ers have confirmed that general manager Sam Hinkie has resigned.
"The Process" is over.
76ers general manager Sam Hinkie stepped down Wednesday night.
"While we are disappointed in Sam's decision, we would like to sincerely thank him for his contributions over the past three seasons," Sixers managing general partner Josh Harris said in a statement. "There is no question that Sam's work has put us in a very strong position to take advantage of numerous opportunities for an exciting future."
Citing sources, Yahoo Sports reported that Bryan Colangelo would succeed Hinkie as GM. A league source confirmed that report Wednesday.
Several phone calls and a text message to Hinkie, 38, were not immediately returned. Jerry Colangelo, the Sixers' chairman of basketball operations and the father of Bryan, declined to comment. Hinkie, however, sent a 13-page resignation letter to the equity partners of the Sixers.
"Given all the changes to our organization, I no longer have the confidence that I can make good decisions on behalf of investors in the Sixers - you," he wrote in the letter. "So I should step down. And I have.
"In one sense, it pains me that it has come to this and that I would go at the end of a particularly down year in the standings, one that has been painful for all of us. But the fact is - and a young [Warren] Buffett said it much better than I ever - "I am not attuned to this environment, and I don't want to spoil a decent record by trying to play a game I don't understand just so I can go out a hero.' "
ESPN first reported and sources have confirmed that Hinkie gave up his post after the changes in the organization emerged this week. Sources said that Hinkie was asked to take a lesser role that would have paved the way for Bryan Colangelo. He declined.
According to several sources, Hinkie stepped down without notifying his employees. The sources said they learned of his resignation via social media.
"He did what he always does. No communication," one said.
The resignation shouldn't come as a surprise. League executives have said that the December hiring of Jerry Colangelo as chairman of basketball operations was an admission by the Sixers' ownership group that "The Process" - deconstructing the roster before rebuidling it - was not working. There was a sense that the move meant that Hinkie would ultimately lose some of his power.
At the time of the hiring, league executives wondered whether Jerry Colangelo would get the ownership group to hire his son for a high-ranking front-office position. Bryan Colangelo worked for his father for 13 seasons with the Phoenix Suns before becoming the Toronto Raptors' president and general manager in February 2006. He ended his tenure as general manager in May 2013 and stepped down as president a month later.
Bryan Colangelo was honored twice as NBA executive of the year. A league source said his aggressive style and experience would be good for the Sixers.
On Wednesday, the Vertical website reported that Bryan Colangelo had been targeted for the general manager's job and that hiring him "has been gathering momentum."
Shortly after being hired in May 2013, Hinkie embarked on a three-year rebuilding project that was dubbed "The Process."
The Sixers used the three seasons for player development, evaluating talent, and developing a culture. In the process, they kept losing enough games to secure top draft picks. The once-proud franchise turned into the laughingstock of the NBA.
"The Process" brought a lot of pain and humiliation and a less-than-desirable place in NBA history for the team.
The Sixers are a league-worst 10-68 heading into Friday's game against the New York Knicks. They are 47-195 since the start of the 2013-14 season.
"A league with 30 intense competitors requires a culture of finding new, better ways to solve repeating problems," Hinkie wrote of 'The Process' in his resignation letter. "In the short term, investing in that sort of innovation often doesn't look like much progress, if any. Abraham Lincoln said "give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."
However, Hinkie revealed on the Lowe Post podcast that he lost 20 pounds this season because of the Sixers' struggles.
He saw his team open the season with 18 consecutive losses and post a 1-30 record heading into Christmas.
"I lost 20 pounds [from] November to January," he said on the podcast.
Hinkie talked about his comment Tuesday. "It was just a hard season to start the year," he said. "Wasn't it for you?"
The general manager made several mistakes during his tenure. He has admitted that.
Perhaps the biggest blunder was his refusal to address the media after Jahlil Okafor's string of off-the-court incidents became public in the fall. Another major misstep was not taking advantage of the team's security apparatus to shield the rookie in the public. A third glaring error was his dealings with agents.
According to several sources, Hinkie was not permitted by agents to interview Kristaps Porzingis during his predraft workout in Las Vegas in June. But Porzingis, who went fourth overall in the draft to the New York Knicks, wasn't the only draft prospect agents were trying to keep from the Sixers.
Sources say that during the draft process, Okafor's camp wasn't in favor of his playing for the Sixers. And there are conflicting stories about D'Angelo Russell. Some say that he welcomed the idea of playing in Philadelphia, at least initially. Others say he wasn't in favor of it. The former Ohio State star landed with the Lakers.
Under Hinkie's tenure, the Sixers were ordered to pay the New Orleans Pelicans $3 million by the NBA last season for not fully disclosing Jrue Holiday's injury history before he was traded during the 2013 draft, according to sources.
But everything about Hinkie's blueprint for building a championship-caliber franchise is unique. Some folks around the NBA were fans of the uniqueness.
The team was criticized for having just one "basketball person" in its front office in Brandon D. Williams, who played 18 games in the NBA. The Sixers, under Hinkie, also prefered to keep to themselves instead of joining the old boys' network.
"There has been much criticism of our approach," Hinkie wrote in his resignation letter. "There will be more. A competitive league like the NBA necessitates a zig while our competitors comfortably zag.
"We often chose not to defend ourselves against much of the criticism, largely in an effort to stay true to the ideal of having the longest view in the room."
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