“Sixers needed to zig while the NBA looked to zag”: ‘Trust the Process’ pioneer, Sam Hinkie, famously justified accusations of trying to tank in a 13-page resignation letter

Sam Hinkie resigned from being the Sixers General Manager in April of 2016 and talked about wanting to develop a new strategy to win long term. 

The 2012 Philadelphia 76ers were as a scrappy as it gets. They made the Playoffs as an 8th seed and made it to the ECSF before getting booted from the postseason by the Boston Celtics in a grueling 7-game series. Following this season, they would go on to miss the Playoffs entirely. In came Sam Hinkie, the new Sixers GM in the 2013 offseason. 

Instead of trying to salvage what the Sixers had to try to establish a winning culture of sorts, Hinkie went the complete opposite direction. As someone who studied analytics under Daryl Morey with the Rockets in 2005, Sam Hinkie was as calculated as ever. He came in with the mentality to lose to eventually climb the NBA Draft in hopes of landing on potential franchise superstars.

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In his first season as the Sixers GM, Sam traded away Philly cornerstones like All-Star Jrue Holiday during the offseason, Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes at the trade deadline, and Thaddeous Young to the T-Wolves the following offseason. This 2014 Draft however, brought about the arrival of Joel Embiid. 

Sam Hinkie and his resignation from being the Sixers GM. 

During his time with the Sixers, Sam Hinkie’s teams boasted some of the worst records in the league and of all time. The infamous 10-72 2015-16 season might have been the tipping point for the front office however as on April 6th, 2016, Hinkie resigned as being the General Manager for the 76ers.

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In this letter, he acknowledged having used unorthodox methods to gain assets and higher lottery odds. “A competitive league like the NBA necessitates a zig while our competitors comfortably zags,” wrote Hinkie. 

the 13-page long letter covers topics ranging from his experiences as the Sixers GM to the connections he made with the city of Philly and its players. He lauded Joel Embiid, hands down the best decision he made as the GM, for being ‘unique’. 

With Embiid being an MVP candidate last season and one of the league’s 10 best players year in and year out, it’s easy to forget that Sam Hinkie was unjustly criticized for selecting him due to his injury prone history. 

“The decision to draft Joel third, though, still looks to me to be the correct one in hindsight given the underlying reasoning. But to call something that could be wrong (‘failed draft pick’) right (‘good decision’) makes all of our heads hurt, mine included.” 

Safe to say that the Sixers would not have been where they are today without Hinkie’s unapologetically tanking for three seasons straight.