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Report: Sam Hinkie says taking the same old path made no sense

Alas, the story was published too late to have any impact on Hinkie's efforts to save his dignity within the 76ers' front office.

Still, there's a fair amount of newsworthy stuff to take in.

First, here's Hinkie reflecting on his motivation to push "The Process," even though it alienated a significant portion of the 76ers' fan base and the NBA community as a whole:

"So many of my friends will tell me, 'Don't do that. Don't try that. It's going to end poorly. They'll run you out,'... And that's the reason to do it, because fear has been the motivating factor for way too many people for way too long. There's a huge agency problem in the whole business, particularly in my role: Keep the job."

These quotes from rival executives are striking:

Adds one Western Conference executive: "Sam's a hard-nosed negotiator, which is intimidating to some people. There's a bit of 'what's behind the curtain?' with Sam. People don't know what his factors are. It's not as straightforward as 'I like that guy.'"

Agents had their own concerns. Hinkie became known for drafting players in the second round and signing them to four-year partially guaranteed contracts. Without any leverage, agents were forced to accept those team-friendly terms, but they didn't have to like it.

[...]

"We're in a competitive business," says one Western Conference exec. "I think a lot of people feared what Sam was doing: 'What if it works? It will become the new model.'"

[...]

Says one Western Conference GM: "I really believe what Hinkie did was break something down masterfully. People say you can just tank and get picks. Sam did so much more. His deals brought multiple picks back every time. I never saw someone do more deals with more moving parts in such a short amount of time."

Finally, here might be the strongest anecdote of all:

The 76ers are hardly the first team to build through the draft; The Process was once known as The OKC Thing. But the Sixers' plan to openly exploit the lottery system by amassing high picks threatened to expose the draft's flaws and make the NBA look ridiculous.

So it was, league sources say, that the glorification of The Process (by those who actually thought it would work) scared the commissioner, perhaps even more than the condemnation.

[...]

By stepping in and facilitating the Jerry Colangelo move in Philadelphia, then, Silver sent a message: Gross incompetence is acceptable; strategic gaming of a flawed system is not.

Not all of the material in Brenner's story is new, to be sure. The parts about Colangelo being brought in at Silver's behest were in Keith Pompey's reporting months ago. So were the ways in which Hinkie's principles annoyed agents around the NBA.

After Hinkie left, a source told Pompey after Hinkie left that Hinkie lacked "maturity," and said Hinkie needed to "check his ego."

Jerry Colangelo brought more details to light in a conversation with Bob Cooney in April.

But Hinkie was notorious for speaking on the record as little as he possibly could while with the 76ers, whether to local or national reporters.

And it's striking to read in Brenner's blunt terms that - as PhillyMag's Derek Bodner tweeted this morning - Hinkie's loud defenders in parts of the Philadelphia media and 76ers fan base genuinely scared NBA headquarters.