Quote (Kayeto @ Nov 20 2017 02:33pm)
Celtics started the tank at roughly the same time as the 76ers.
Let me ask it this way: Let's say the Suns are interviewing for a new GM. A candidate walks in and lays out a plan to win 20 games per season for the next 5 seasons, then have a roster with as much talent as the 76ers have now. Would the owner like that plan and hire that candidate?
If you think he would, then why did Hinkie get fired? All Hinkie did was execute the plan he got hired for. Hinkie got fired because that amount of losing was too great a cost. The franchise was attracting negative attention from the national media and the league even stepped in.
The Celtics started with far better assets than the Sixers did when Hinkie was hired...
You seem to forget that Hinkie was hired after the Andrew Bynum disaster, where the Sixers gave up a ton of assets for him and he never played a single game in Philly that following season. That's when Hinkie was brought in, and pretty much cleared house (with the few assets that they had) starting with Jrue Holiday coming off his All-Star selection season.
You are right, Hinkie was pressured to remove himself from his position by ownership who didn't like the negative attention that it brought upon the franchise for doing something so radical. They didn't TRUST THE FUCKING PROCESS, but now look at where we are. He turned trash into gold.
His resignation letter to the Sixers ownership pretty much sums it up. This dude knew exactly what he was doing, he took absolutely nothing and turned it into a treasure chest full of draft picks and great prospects. In just 3-4 years he did this. But the problem is that it was a bad look for the league, and it lost the league money despite being great for the Sixers long term.
Quote (Sam Hinkie @ resignation letter)
There has been much criticism of our approach. 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. To attempt to convince others that our actions are just will serve to paint us in a different light among
some of our competitors as progressives worth emulating, versus adversaries worthy of their disdain. Call me
old-fashioned, but sometimes the optimal place for your light is hiding directly under a bushel.
It is critical to be cycle aware in a talent-driven league. In a situation like yours at the Sixers, where a
variety of circumstances left you near a trough in the cycle (and falling), amplifying this cycle became crucial.
Today’s outcomes for every team are heavily impacted by decisions past (who to draft, sign, trade, hire, etc.).
Jeff Bezos says that if Amazon has a good quarter it’s because of work they did 3, 4, 5 years ago—not
because they did a good job that quarter. Today’s league-leading Golden State Warriors acquired Draymond
Green, Andrew Bogut, and Klay Thompson almost 4 years ago, nearly 4 years ago exactly, and almost 5
years ago. In this league, the long view picks at the lock of mediocrity.
This post was edited by Sixers on Nov 20 2017 01:13pm