Safe to say that the grueling “Process” of enduring painful, losing seasons worked out well for the Philadelphia 76ers. But sadly for the man behind it, Sam Hinkie, he was no longer around the NBA to enjoy the fruits of those hardships.
The 42-year-old former Sixers general manager recently made headlines after addressing a potential return to the NBA. Hinkie stepped down from his executive post with Philly in 2016 and has been out of the league since.
Speaking to ESPN's Pablo Torre on the ESPN Daily podcast (via RealGM), Hinkie revealed that he has no intentions of returning to the NBA ever.
“Oh, zero. Zero,” Hinkie described his lack of desire to assume his old post. “I've turned that chapter for sure. That part of my life. I very much like what I'm doing now. I like surrounding myself with people who think in sort of the timeframes I do, which is often longer. That are quite comfortable with long feedback loops. That want to do the kinds of things I do, which is bet on young people and watch them flourish.”
Sam Hinkie, of course, garnered an infamous reputation for consistent losing during the Sixers' darkest days in the mid-2010s. Philly was so bad at one point that they only won 47 games in three straight seasons from 2013 to 2016. Pundits and NBA fans called for his head for blatantly tanking during that time frame in order to acquire lottery draft picks.
Hinkie even carried himself in an unapologetic manner at the time, reminding fans to just “Trust the Process”.
Those years of losing did net them their two current franchise cornerstones, selecting Joel Embiid third overall in the 2014 NBA Draft followed by top pick Ben Simmons in 2016. They also had another first overall selection the following year, going with Markelle Fultz.
Hinkie. meanwhile, left basketball altogether since vacating that Sixers job and settled with a venture capital firm Eighty-Seven Capital. The Sixers did become playoff contenders post-Hinkie and are now set to welcome a new era with Doc Rivers handling the coaching reigns and Daryl Morey calling the shots in the front office.
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