The Philadelphia 76ers will always hold a special place in my heart. I was born there and though I didn't realize it at the time, I lived there through the heyday of The Answer. Allen Iverson will always be one of my favorite players to walk the floor, even if his brand of hero ball was completely antithetical to what it means to win. But the 76ers have enjoyed....no, wait, suffered through just a horrendous stretch in these past few years. And it's all due to one man.
Sam Hinkie is an unbelievably smart man. He created the new analytics movement in the NBA under Darryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets. What are analytics in sports, you may ask? Analytics turn a player's performance into meaningful data. Basically, it's just a really obnoxious way to track really specific things that a player does during the game--like the rate that they rebound the ball or something like that. If you're really that interested, read this piece from ESPN. It's a tad dated but it explains things much better than I can. Anyways, Hinkie came to the 76ers at the start of a heavy duty rebound and they made him their czar. As the general manager and head of basketball operations, he had complete control over the roster and made tons of changes.
On his first real day in charge, Hinkie pulled the trigger on a massive draft day trade that involved moving their best player, guard Jrue Holiday, to New Orleans in exchange for the flat-topped, defensive wunderkind Nerlens Noel. This trade also broke up one of the most interesting hypothetical tandems in the league between Noel and Anthony Davis--but we'll leave that open for further discussion another time. Hinkie also went out of his way to trade away many mid-tier players, like the incomparably frustrating Evan Turner and the bouncy Lavoy Allen. Through all of this, all he did was acquire draft picks. The NBA accused him of "tanking," which is intentionally trying to lose to secure a high draft pick. Hinkie always said that it was part of the plan, that people needed to #TrustTheProcess. And it might finally be paying off.
Hinkie may have resigned a month before this year's NBA draft, but his legacy has made an indelible mark upon the NBA. Through his acquiring of high-level draft picks and consistently dumping salary every year, the 76ers have a ton of young, talented pieces. They have the aforementioned Nerlens Noel, former Duke big and knockout artist Jahlil Okafor, the Australian maestro Ben Simmons, and the mysterious Dario Saric of Croatia. But the crown jewel of the process is healthy and boy, does he look good.
This video will come to be known as the "Six Points Heard 'Round the World" (okay, maybe not, but I want the credit if it happens). Joel Embiid was the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, but he definitely wasn't a sure thing. As a freshman at Kansas, he came on late and didn't get good at basketball until about 15 games in before he got hurt. Hinkie drafted him completely on upside and Embiid returned the favor by......not playing a single official minute in the NBA due to injury. Make no mistake about it, Embiid's injury history played a large part in HInkie being forced to resign this summer. And their legacies will forever be linked together, especially during this season. But Embiid has looked the part of the once-in-a-generation type talent so far and he is the entire definition of "The Process."
Sam Hinkie's process was defined by collecting draft picks and turning them into young talent, regardless of the fit. With a roster loaded with big men in a league that is slowly moving away from those types of players and outside of Bobby Covington, they really don't have a real outside shooter. Their best guard is a 30-year-old who has never played a large part on any team and Simmons is, unfortunately, going to miss some time with a broken foot to start this year. But the pieces might be there.
The 76ers won't be good this year. In fact, they might still be very very bad. But I can't help feel a little optimism every time I see Embiid play. Maybe, just maybe, Hinkie knew exactly what he was doing.
Trust The Process 🙏🏿🙏🏿
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) October 1, 2016
