But in December, Harris hired Colangelo, who is also a special advisor to the managing general partner.
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Less than an hour after word broke that Sam Hinkie had stepped down as general manager, early reports were confirmed by The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the Philadelphia 76ers will hire Bryan Colangelo to replace him.
When Jerry Colangelo took over as an adviser for the Philadelphia 76ers, the next logical question was whether general manager and president of basketball operations Sam Hinkie would stick around.
Hinkie ran an analytics-minded front office and stripped the organization of all major talent in the hope of bottoming out in the standings and acquiring lottery picks.
Hinkie, the man the Sixers brought in to rebuild the franchise, has made a number of controversial moves since taking over in 2013. Joel Embiid had all the potential in the world, but foot injuries have not allowed him to appear in a single National Basketball Association game yet.
Since becoming the Sixers’ GM (2013-14) the team has won a total of 47 games – Golden State, San Antonio, Cleveland and Toronto have won more games than that just this season.
“There has been much criticism of our approach”, Hinkie wrote. Even with rookie Jahlil Okafor playing well, the Sixers flirted with the worst record in National Basketball Association history; 9-73 set by the 1972-73 Sixers.
Hinkie was asked about his comment in the podcast before the Sixers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 107-93, on Tuesday night.
Embarrassed by the team’s futility, the Sixers turned to Colangelo.
According to ESPN, Hinkie has stepped down as general manager of the 76ers.
“What I see here is, there’s a lot that needs to be done, ” Colangelo said on the day he was hired. The trade landed the Sixers a protected first-round pick from the Suns via the Los Angeles Lakers.
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“It’s an exciting offseason and one we’ve always been looking forward to, ” Hinkie said at the trade deadline. That alone makes a big difference, not to mention the other picks we’ve acquired, the organic growth of the rest of our team. Philly has also netted 10 extra second-round picks for the 2017-2021 drafts. Minnesota was worse a year ago.
