The Philadelphia 76ers, Winning

The Philadelphia 76ers are winning basketball games. Donald Trump is the President of the United States of America. Matt Ryan won a playoff game. Next thing you know my investments in the stock market will pay off. 

You know what investments are paying off right now? The losses The Philadelphia 76ers took under the stewardship of Sam Hinkie. 

Hinkie didn't just bottom out the Philadelphia franchise, he hit the bottom and dug deeper. In the NBA, if you're not a second round playoff team, what are you? If you're a team chasing the eight seed in the playoffs here's what will happen. If you're in the East, you'll meet LeBron James and Co. and get swept. If you're in the West, have fun playing Steph Curry and Golden State. Even if you're the seventh seed you're looking at playing The San Antonio Spurs, or The Toronto Raptors/Boston Celtics. This isn't football where one spectacular playoff performance can win you a game. These are seven games in which the best team almost always wins. So why did Hinkie bottom out so thoroughly?

To get the best talent; to get a shot at the first pick in the draft; to save money; to game the system. Like most sports, the NBA system says the worse you are this year, the better your draft pick will be next year. So Hinkie tanked; hard. He acquired Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor. Other notable names include Robert Covington, Michael Carter Williams, Richaun Holmes, and Dario Saric. Every single one of those guys are NBA players. Embiid, Noel, and Simmons have superstar potential. The other guys are also legitimate players. Hinkie didn't just hit on the stars, but he hit on other draft picks as well. So why was he fired?

Because his tanking was so blatant. Because he sold away average to above average parts of the team for future assets. Because he took on awful players on awful contracts for assets. And yet here the 76ers are winning games, with plenty of salary to spend next year, with plenty of assets to either draft more guys, or create a package of assets in a trade. Hinkie's plan of future assets and past draft picks is starting to come to fruition, it's a shame he isn't here to reap the rewards. 

It's bullshit he was fired. He told everyone his plan, executed his plan well and was fired for doing so. So why was he fired? It's not what you do, it's how you do it. Hinkie was closed off with the media. He didn't deny losing at all. He didn't let the public in. He knew he was going to be fired, so he wrote a 13 page letter discussing why he did everything he did. Here it is if you want to read it. It's an interesting read containing numerous references to iconic historical figures. 

[http://www.espn.com/pdf/2016/0406/nba_hinkie_redact.pdf]

After all that look at the 76ers now. They have a great coach in Brett Brown (By the way, Hinkie picked him too). He has the 76ers playing like this.

The 76ers beat the Los Angeles Clippers last night. The 76ers are getting good. You know that idea about NBA players not only getting taller, but getting longer? Hinkie was on that ship early on. Covington is 6'9, Noel is 6'11, Embiid is 7'0, and Simmons 6'10. is Check out Philly this month. 

When Simmons comes back, this team will be able to play Simmons (6'10), Nik Stauskas (6'6), Covington (6'9), Noel (6'11) and Embiid (7'0). That will be the biggest lineup in the NBA. Moreover, Simmons can handle the ball and pass like LeBron his rookie year, Stauskas can shoot, Covington is a respectable shooter, Noel can set picks, rebound, defend, rim run, and Embiid can do everything. No seriously he can.

As as basketball fan, if you told me I had to suffer through three years of awful to get to possibly many more years of good I'm all for it. Yeah they sucked for a while. So what? Lots of teams suck. Would you rather be a Philadelphia fan with direction or an Orlando Magic fan with no direction? Philly has everything going for it. Fun to watch, bunch of young guys, player development, great defense, energetic coach, great city, and Ben Simmons isn't even playing yet. Thanks Hinkie. You deserve better.