Sam Hinkie has been out of a job for almost two years now, but his sage advice is still very much in demand apparently.
Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher reported on Tuesday that NBA owners and executives routinely contact the former Philadelphia 76ers GM for advice.
Per Bucher:
Sources both close to Hinkie and around the league said owners and executives routinely reach out to him for counsel. Several basketball operations vice presidents and owners said they would hire him, but they wouldn’t put him in charge.
Others believe Hinkie and The Process weren’t given a full trial, and that he didn’t do anything wrong as much as the league turned on him.
Hinkie, who is still only 40, was hired as Sixers GM in 2013 and instituted a controversial strategy (dubbed “The Process”) of intentionally and blatantly bottoming out in order to accumulate as many high lottery picks as possible. He sold off virtually all of the team’s existing NBA-caliber players and oversaw a total of 47 wins over three seasons. The strategy succeeded to an extent, netting Philly elite youngsters like Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Markelle Fultz. But Hinkie himself fell out of favor with management and resigned in 2016 (with the league passing anti-tanking draft lottery reform a year later).
Though he is now adored by Sixers fans, Hinkie has yet to land another front office gig since. But nevertheless, it is good to see that prominent figures in the NBA at least respect him as much as some of his former pupils do.
