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For those who don’t remember, Colangelo was forced to resign following a report by The Ringer that determined he’d used five burner accounts to disparage predecessor Sam Hinkie and several Sixers players. It turns out that one of the many people whom Colangelo’s burner accounts funneled information to was Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who admitted in a recent appearance on the Hello and Welcome podcast that the accounts served as one of his “best sources.” “That was crazy,” said Pompey of Colangelo’s burner accounts. “But the crazy part is the account… The people used to reach out to me. That was one of my best sources all the time. It was great, that was one of my best sources. So when he got caught, I was like… Cause it was kinda like ‘Such and such is going to happen today.’ So I would write it. First, you would verify it. Then all of a sudden you’re like, how come nobody is upset? Stuff like that. But yeah, I was upset.”
Jake Fischer: Small note on Vasilije Micić joining Oklahoma City: The Thunder received plenty of trade interest for the Euroleague veteran on draft night, particularly from the Utah Jazz, sources said. Thunder seemed to rebuff any overtures for the point guard original drafted by Sam Hinkie.
Justin Grasso: Nerlens Noel on the #Sixers before tonight's game: "I genuinely am happy for everybody here. From Joel to even... I'm proud of Sam Hinkie and what he was able to start. He doesn't get enough credit for it. So yeah, just I'm proud of everybody that's doing well here.”
Joel Embiid explains why he stole 'The Process' nickname from Sixers
Many felt the GM Sam Hinkie was wrongfully let go by the Sixers. Their superstar center Joel Embiid was certainly one of them. The evidence? His adopted nickname, obviously. The MVP big man recently made an appearance on the Draymond Green show, where he opened up why he choose the nickname. Via Draymond Green Show – “There was a couple of things. First thing was, I got drafted by Sam Hinkie. And you know, he’s the reason why we were able to draft me and have these many picks and all that stuff. I got to the league and my second year, (Hinkie) was basically forced out, I don’t wanna say names but you know I’m outspoken so I’ll say it: the NBA. I don’t know who, but I think that’s what it was. They basically forced him out and I didn’t like it.”
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“I knew they didn’t like The Process and then I was like ‘you know what? I’m gonna piss some people off. So that’s why I started pushing the agenda about you know what? I’m gonna support my mans because he drafted me, coming out of college before I got drafted he believed in me.”
Joel Embiid: 'Trust the Process... Sam Hinkie knew'
Rich Hoffman: Joel Embiid got up from his post-game Zoom and someone told him, "Trust the Process" off camera. Embiid: "Trust the Process... Sam Hinkie knew."
It's been a long road back for the Sixers to the top, with "The Process" era finally coming full circle to sit atop the East, something Joel Embiid reflected on. "It starts from when the Sixers finished a season 10-62," Embiid said. "I think that's when it started. From that time we've only improved."
At times, meetings with Thibodeau and Aller grew heated. Thibodeau would even mock Aller and call him “Hinkie” (a reference to Sam Hinkie, architect of the Philadelphia 76ers “Process”). Some around the team found this tussling strange. It’s one thing for a group that’s been together for years to debate the organization’s direction; it’s another to have this kind of philosophical disagreement among new hires brought in by a team president, who, in theory, during interviews would have shared his plan. “Leon’s communication isn’t always great,” a second person with close Knicks ties said. “He can be hands-off.”
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From your perspective as a player, what did you think of Hinkie as an executive and what he was trying to build there at the time? Richaun Holmes: Sam, for me, he gave a lot of guys a chance to prove themselves in the NBA. I don’t know if I get drafted to any other team other than Philly at that time. I don’t know if any other situation could’ve worked out like Philly did. I feel like he gave a lot of young players a chance to prove themselves. A lot of guys need time and development. I think that’s one thing Sam was banking on was developing guys and getting guys prepared to play and getting the most of them. I think he had an eye for talent in that way.
For those fans, Hinkie's endorsement of Morey might... be concerning. It shouldn't be, but it might be. Here's how Hinkie evaluated the Sixers hiring Morey, and why he thinks Morey will be a great fit for the organization: "This is why Daryl Morey will be good for this job, and has been good at his job for a really, really long time. In February 2009, we traded 32-year-old Rafer Alston for 22-year-old Kyle Lowry to be our backup point guard [in Houston]. [...] I sent Daryl this very emotional, for me, text, and I said, 'I'm so proud to work here, because you have done the hard right thing, which is, in the midst of where we are, leaned into this thing that we have massive conviction around.' [..] "We're going to get roasted in the interim. We traded our starting point guard, and we were good. We were, like, a four seed or five seed? We were interesting. And we traded our starting point guard. [...]
"We'd long had our eyes on Kyle Lowry, and loved him, loved his makeup. And so we knew this was the time to do it. Increasingly the way the team was going, it was not going to work, in our minds, if Rafer continued to run the team. [...] "It was the hard right thing, and we did it. [...] And I was so happy to do it, even though I knew the papers were going to beat us up for a little while. [...] That kind of hard right thing, I think Daryl will help with a bunch."
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