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Philadelphia 76ers: Former GM Sam Hinkie At Vegas Summer League

By George Kondoleon

Nov 2, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie (far left) watches as center Joel Embiid (21) walks out of the tunnel on crutches prior to a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 2, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie (far left) watches as center Joel Embiid (21) walks out of the tunnel on crutches prior to a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Philadelphia 76ers are looking to move on from the Process Era, but Sam Hinkie’s name is still a polarizing one amongst fans.

The Philadelphia 76ers are in the middle of their second Summer League stint this year, this time in Las Vegas. Excitement has swirled around the team as potential superstar Ben Simmons has continued to make highlight reel passes.

Even with Ben Simmons success, there is somewhat of missing feeling. President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo is now in charge and is doing a splendid job of adding complimenting pieces to the current assets he inherited, but many are still talking about the work of former GM Sam Hinkie.

That escalated as CSN Philly’s Jesse Camerato reported that Hinkie was in Vegas for Summer league.

This may seem like frivolous news, but Sam Hinkie’s impact still runs through the backbone of the Philadelphia 76ers. There’s no telling if he was watching his creation square off against the Bulls, or simply just watching some basketball, but it sparked conversation to say the least.

Sam Hinkie’s radical ideology was often debated, and it seemed to seclude him from the rest of the front office executives in the league, which puts his basketball future in some question. The rebuild process he put on the table at times frustrated fans as they sat through three seasons of porous basketball, but there’s no question that he set up the Philadelphia 76ers for success.

Sam Hinkie took over the team shortly before the 2013 NBA Draft, where he inherited a team that seemingly failed to ever be a serious championship contender. Hinkie came in and decided to blow up the team, using tanking as a method to find a superstar through the draft.

In 2013, Hinkie traded Jrue Holiday to acquire defensive big man prospect Nerlens Noel, then selected Michael Carter-Williams. Noel missed his first season, Carter-Williams won rookie of the year. In 2014, the Philadelphia 76ers fell out of luck and landed 3rd in the draft. Hinkie decided to take a chance on talent in Joel Embiid, whom will hopefully finally make his debut this upcoming season. He also traded the draft selection of Elfrid Payton for the rights of Dario Saric, who will also be making his debut this season.

In 2015, Hinkie may have made his most questionable pick in Jahlil Okafor. Okafor was the best player available in the draft and could still develop into a star, but for the Philadelphia 76ers who already bolstered two highly-touted centers it has now created somewhat of a clutter that the team is thus far struggling to solve.

The 2015-16 season was the last the Philadelphia 76ers would see of Hinkie, as he resigned in the last month of the regular season. With Hinkie’s tanking plan, the team was able to land the top pick in the draft in Ben Simmons, who already looks like a surefire star. This means it took Sam Hinkie just three seasons and four drafts to find his superstar. The polarizing general manager turned the very difficult and rare task to finding a superstar and gave the Philadelphia 76ers one in 25% of the drafts he was somewhat involved with, including the indirect involvement of the 2016 Draft.

Hinkie sightings have been a rare finding since his resignation, so to hear news of him attending Las Vegas Summer League is intriguing. Sam Hinkie revolutionized the rebuilding process by emphasizing the known weakness of the NBA’s Draft Lottery, and now his presence will be felt as the Philadelphia 76ers move towards a successful future.

Bryan Colangelo will water the seeds that Hinkie laid down, but Hinkie will most likely be the forgotten name in the history books if the Philadelphia 76ers were to reach the pinnacle in the near future.

Next: Dario Saric's Progression

Hinkie’s Philadelphia legacy will live on through the few who still admire his ideology, but his believers are probably just hoping he lands a job anywhere and see him try to complete his long plan once again.

*UPDATE*: According to Keith Pompey, Hinkie was indeed watching the Sixers vs. Bulls game.