The Sam Hinkie era in Philadelphia came to a shocking end tonight. The news of Hinkie’s departure came via Marc Stein of ESPN, who obtained a portion of the former decision maker’s 13-page resignation to Sixers higher ups.
Hinkie, the Sixers’ enigmatic and unconventional general manager/president of basketball operations, oversaw a team that won 47 games in three years. In spite of this, he built up a loyal following among Philadelphia fans for his big-picture approach to basketball. The Sixers were a team that looked to struggle in the short-term with a hope of winning championships down the road, something that was affectionately known in Philly as “The Process.”
In fact, “The Process” was one of the biggest punchlines for people on the web in light of Hinkie’s choice to leave the team.
AAAANDDDD IIIIIIII-EEEE-IIIIIIII WILL ALWAAAAYS TRUST YOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU pic.twitter.com/NAmN6PwtwK
— Danny Chau (@dannychau) April 7, 2016
Idiot fan-boys don't realize that this is all just part of Hinkie's master plan. #trusttheprocess https://t.co/UoUZHbM41X
— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) April 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/Jdwohl2/status/717871255299497984
Trust the process?
Sixers GM Sam Hinkie has reportedly stepped down, per @ESPNSteinLine pic.twitter.com/Xi1QKb7GdY
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 7, 2016
"Trust the process" people pic.twitter.com/Srb3qoDrSE
— guenth🛸 (@guenth11) April 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/Ryan_Plank/status/717871639715774464
HE DIDN'T TRUST THE PROCESS?
— FearTheSword (@FearTheSword) April 7, 2016
For most, the person behind this more or less is Jerry Colangelo, who was hired as Philadelphia’s Special Advisor to Managing General Partner and Chairman of Basketball Operations back in December. The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski has some of the details on Colangelo and how he wanted to bring his son, Bryan, on in a front office role.
Bryan Colangelo had been targeted as the Sixers GM, a candidacy that has been gathering momentum, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/WojVerticalNBA/status/717868144379846657
https://twitter.com/WojVerticalNBA/status/717870162871857153
As you can guess, this rubbed a lot of Sixers fans – who were leery about the hiring of Colangelo in the first place because they feared something like this – the wrong way.
https://twitter.com/SpikeEskin/status/717867101592096769
https://twitter.com/SpikeEskin/status/717867527502573568
I'm done with the @Sixers. F the Colangelos. F Josh Harris. I hope Apollo Management goes bankrupt. Sell the team.
— Michael H. Weber (@thisisweber) April 7, 2016
Tune in next year for season 1 of Keeping Up With the Colangelo's
— Michael (@mic_keen) April 7, 2016
Heh. They already cut off his balls with Jerry Colangelo, and then bring in another Colangelo? Get outta here. https://t.co/Rt9BJ549N7
— Jason Patt (@Bulls_Jay) April 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/curtismharris/status/717870956618915841
Oh I get it now. Jerry Colangelo is Cersei Lannister.
— NBCs The Slap (@NBCsTheSlap) April 7, 2016
One person had an especially hot take, saying Hinkie did a worse job former Timberwolves GM David Kahn.
Pretty sure Kahn did a better job than Hinkie
— JacobJBG (@jacobjbg) April 7, 2016
Others decided to look back on Hinkie’s recent appearance on Zach Lowe’s podcast for a possible clue about his shocking decision.
In retrospect, Sam Hinkie’s Lowe Post appearance did kind of feel like a job interview
— Mike Prada. (PRAY-duh) (@MikePradaNBA) April 7, 2016
.@CoryMcLinn78 On his podcast with Sam Hinkie, Lowe said "The bloom is off the MCW rose." I think that's his response to that.
— Moneybagg Yo(hannes) 🇪🇷 (@AronYohannes) April 6, 2016
Hinkie on @ZachLowe_NBA podcast was yesterday morning. resigned with a THIRTEEN page letter to the owners. You do the math.
— Wilt Hands (@yeettanz) April 7, 2016
If Sam Hinkie wrote a 13 page resignation letter, that means he definitely knew he was done when he was on the podcast yesterday.
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) April 7, 2016
Hinkie said this week on @ZachLowe_NBA podcast he lost 20 lbs this season bc of stress, now: https://t.co/FJd8Aefjyj
— Michele Steele (@MicheleSteele) April 7, 2016
Hearing that Hinkie podcast today… Then seeing he resigned… It's like it dawned on him that he would never be judged fairly.
— Kirk Henderson (@KirkSeriousFace) April 7, 2016
As someone who's been down with "the process" the entire time, that pod felt bad. This is crazy, though.
— Matthew Tynan (@Matthew_Tynan) April 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/netw3rk/status/717872034357907456
Some decided to just point out that, you know, the Sixers haven’t exactly been good during Hinkie’s tenure.
The Hinkie campaign was so well sold that people are shocked by the ouster of a GM who won 47 games over 3 seasons
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) April 7, 2016
The "numbers guys" in the NBA — Hinkie and Morey — not exactly crushing it lately. https://t.co/F7ZIn2WPu5
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/ashleyxholcomb/status/717871887120879616
But the best reaction came from veteran basketball scribe Steve McPherson of Rolling Stone, who tweeted out the best photoshop that any of us will see on this subject.
https://twitter.com/steventurous/status/717877712644210689
