Exile on Broad Street

AT LEAST Sam Hinkie offered warning.

When he assumed command in 2013, the Sixers' czar told everyone he didn't like anything about the team.

Then the rest of the city's teams fell in with his scorched-earth campaign, leaving the populace reeling as never before.

To its credit, the population is generally accepting.

It began with Chip Kelly's release of receiver DeSean Jackson a year ago, a jarring move that, viewed through the correct prism, made sense.

So have the rest of the decisions. That includes the pending trade of Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy, trading reigning NBA Rookie of the Year point guard Michael Carter-Williams and, if it comes to it, allowing franchise receiver Jeremy Maclin to leave in the prime of his athletic life.

It has been a breathtaking change of identity.

It might be hard for the faithful to digest, but it all adds up.

Sometimes, fascinating, inaccurate narratives accompanied the departures.

Start with the Eagles, since McCoy is the biggest name . . . and since they're far from finished.

And let's start with the popular Eagles. Todd Herremans, the right guard, was a good soldier, but he was playing out of position and was hurt two of the past three seasons. Trent Cole was trained to be a defensive end; he is not an acceptable outside linebacker, where he gamely tried to play the past two seasons. Brash cornerback Cary Williams was no better than average. None warranted his upcoming salary.

Neither did McCoy. Running backs are too easily replaced and too quickly eroded. He has touched the ball 706 times the past two seasons; it's a bad bet that the next 700 will be as productive. The Eagles might get a decent player from Buffalo in Kiko Alonso, but that is irrelevant.

Anyone surprised by Maclin neither being signed nor being tagged as the franchise player didn't pay attention last year, when Jackson was cut. Kelly believes his Machine Gun system works best with bigger receivers than either of them. Simple. Maclin is superb, but he's just not the best fit in Philadelphia.

Moving along . . .

Once the Sixers completed their disastrous trade for center Andrew Bynum in 2012 to appease head coach Doug Collins, they were committed to rebuilding if Bynum did not become a franchise player. They shipped out three former first-round picks, one of them All-Star and Olympian Andre Iguodala, and a future first-round pick, which undermined any future they might have had.

Once Collins quit - that Christmas, it turns out, though he hung around until the season's end - it made no sense to retain young All-Star guard Jrue Holiday. Hinkie took over and traded him for two first-round picks, one of which was Nerlens Noel, and also drafted Carter-Williams; a wonderful haul.

Once the Sixers drafted Joel Embiid, it made no sense to retain Carter-Williams. Embiid and Noel are at least 2 or 3 years from province, while Carter-Williams' development is nearly complete.

Oh, yes: Forget that nonsense narrative about MCW being a lost cause as a shooter. For one thing, the Sixers lacked any other offensive option; he underwent shoulder surgery after last season; and he hasn't played two full seasons yet. MCW might never develop into a pure three-point shooter, but Jason Kidd, John Stockton and Chris Paul began their career as poor shooters, too. They got better.

It wasn't shooting that made Carter-Williams expendable. It was the fact that his position is becoming easier to fill. The evidence:

Michael Carter-Williams.

MCW quickly and ably replaced Holiday. Hinkie's trade turned MCW into a draft pick that almost certainly exceeded the slot in which MCW was taken, 11th overall. Perhaps in the next two drafts, Hinkie will find a Dante Exum or Elfrid Payton or Trey Burke . . . or a Michael Carter-Williams.

Remarkably, the city's most rabid fans appear to have the least issue with the trading of three big names connected at the hip in moves that redefined their franchise.

Popular, inconsistent winger Scott Hartnell was traded last summer to Columbus for a draft pick and R.J. Umberger, a veteran playing far below expectations . . . but a veteran who will cost $9 million less in the long term.

Hartnell's best friend, defenseman Kimmo Timonen, was traded to Chicago last week for a second-round pick and a conditional pick. Timonen is 39 and is playing with a terrifying blood condition that cost him most of this season. The Flyers had no need to add Timonen to their unstable mix . . . especially since, 3 days later, they shipped out his partner, big Braydon Coburn.

Coburn took his $4.5 million price tag to Tampa and brought the Flyers a first-round pick, a third-round pick and a 24-year-old defenseman, Radko Gudas.

Considering the salary ramifications, this was as good a deal as Hinkie's Holiday steal.

And, finally, Jimmy.

The Phillies began their sentimental clearance just before Christmas, when they sent shortstop Jimmy Rollins to Los Angeles for two young pitchers and opened the position for three younger candidates.

By August, if they have their way, the Phillies will have severed their most significant ties to their spendthrift era: Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, Jonathan Papelbon.

There have been other significant departures from the franchises, too: Cary Williams, Marlon Byrd, Brandon Graham, Kyle Kendrick. More will come: DeMeco Ryans, perhaps Dom Brown, maybe even Noel, if the price is right and the Sixers can replace him in the draft.

None of the recent castoffs and none of the future ones will resonate like Rollins.

Philadelphia enjoyed a glorious run of relevance over the past 15 years. There have been gigantic names - Iverson, McNabb, Richards, Halladay.

But the littlest player casts the biggest shadow.

Rollins was the most complete player on any of the teams; a league MVP, a defensive savant with the capacity to dominate a game, a series, a season.

Iverson won the NBA's MVP award, but he was anything but a complete player. Like Rollins, Howard was an MVP, but . . . come on. McCoy might be the most dangerous running back in the NFL, but he never has been the best, as he wishes he was. Roy Halladay was wonderful and Hamels is excellent, but neither plays every day. Claude Giroux is developing into an all-timer, but still developing.

The biggest name to leave Philadelphia in this seismic exodus of excellence hardly registered a tremor.

Then again, none of the departures warranted outrage.

None of the next ones will, either.

Hold on tight.

On Twitter: @inkstainedretch