There seems to be a lot of different opinions regarding how the Sixers should handle the 2013 off-season.

Some of Philadunkia nation thinks that the organization should still plan to build around Bynum, while a large percentage of people don’t want to see him anywhere near this team or city again.

Then there are those who feel that the Sixers actually aren’t too far away from contention and could compete with a couple tweaks.  However for every one with this view there are at least two others who feel that the team needs to be  completely blown up.

The only thing certain now after the disappointing season that was for the Sixers, is uncertainty.

The hiring of Sam Hinkie is the first stride on a long staircase the Sixers are facing this summer.  Finding a “basketball guy” to support Hinkie’s analytics, selecting a head coach, making draft picks, and filling out the roster with free agents are all still left on the agenda.  With a new regime in town it is difficult to tell exactly how any of this will turn out.

With that being said, the smart thing for the Sixers to do this summer is — as little as possible.

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“Hope is a dangerous thing.  Hope can drive a man insane”

That quote from Shawshank Redemption holds true for 76er fans, now more than ever.  Hope is all that is left, I guess.

Seriously, sit back and think about the Philadelphia 76ers for a moment.  Not much, right?  Maybe Sam Hinkie pulls a rabbit out of his hat, a bunch of other things go right and certain guys elevate their game in 2013-14.  Still, how much will that help?

$12,000,000 in cap space is just enough to do something stupid, but not enough to pull off a miracle.  Between Turner, J-Rich and Kwame; the 76ers have more than 25% of their roster as dead weight.  Even getting players at their true value won’t be enough to do anything but keep the team in an awkward spot.

Our man Bynum looks ready to screw the franchise for the next 5 years by being Shawshank quote incarnate.  If not Bynum, it will be some other player.  Let’s just hope that Hinkie’s advanced analytics inform him that he should avoid the players I am write about after the jump.

(WARNING: LOOK AWAY NOW if you really like OJ Mayo…)

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In a classic Lonely Island video, Seth Rogen asks Andy Samberg if he’s, “in charge around here?” To which, Samberg replies, “I’m da boss.”

At the Philadelphia 76ers’ introductory press conference for new General Manager Sam Hinkie, Managing Owner Josh Harris might as well have said, “I’m da boss,” as well.

During a lovely affair at PCOM, Harris and Hinkie basically announced that the Sixers will be moving in a new direction, and that Josh is the man leading the pack.

At the presser Harris mentioned how similar he and Hinkie are in their philosophies towards building this franchise.  Josh also made it clear that Hinkie will “diligently” make roster decisions, take “smart risks”, add a “championship-caliber coach” and be “aggressive and push (his) chips into the middle.”

Even further evidence that Harris is now the man TCB-ing for this franchise, was the fact that Adam Aron — the face of the franchise for the last year — took an deep backseat at yesterday’s press gathering.  That only gave credit to the rumors that former NBA GM John Nash started on SportsRadio 94 WIP that Aron will also assume a more limited role on the business and basketball side of the franchise.

So, let’s put all of this information together.

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It’s official.

After being introduced to both the media and the city of Philadelphia by owner Josh Harris earlier today, Sam Hinkie is now the President of Basketball Operations and General Manager of the 76ers.

Much has been said about Hinkie, whether it be on his tenure with the Rockets, his successful investment career, or his firm belief in analytics, but today he got to answer a few of Philadelphia’s questions for himself.  His remarks should only strengthen the support that the organization has received for this hire.

Hinkie put organizational culture at the forefront of his comments throughout the press conference.  From the get go, it was clear that Josh Harris and Co. were a big reason he accepted the position.  He stated the ownership group is “committed to building a basketball operation that is data-driven, strategic, and relentlessly innovative.”  Hinkie added that, before accepting the position, he spoke with both investors and competitors from within the basketball and investment realms to ensure that the franchise was headed in a direction he agreed with.

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On Friday Yahoo Sports reported via Twitter that the Sixers have reached an agreement to hire Houston Rockets assistant GM / executive VP Sam Hinkie to a multi-year deal to be their new president and GM.

Although the 76ers organization has yet to comment on the rumors, it seems certain that Tony DiLeo is officially out and Hinkie will be the new man in charge of the 7-6.

As you probably know by now, Hinkie was Daryl Morey’s right hand man in Houston and was involved in all decision-making on Rockets personnel moves.  Now he’ll be charged with rebuilding the 76ers — which will be a big challenge.

After the jump, the Philadunkia scribes express their opinions on the Hinkie hiring.
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The Sixers need a scorer.  It seems like a pretty simple sentiment.  In fact, there will be those that criticize this post as being too simplistic.

“Of course, every team could use a scorer.”

“We want a name!”

The point of this post isn’t to postulate about potential players, but rather to point out a decade long problem.

The Sixers have not had a legitimate go-to-guy since Allen Iverson was shipped to Denver, which happens to be about the same time that the franchise’s success stalled.

This is not a coincidence.

Every team that has found extreme success in the NBA over the past decade plus (Heat, Mavs, Lakers, Spurs, Celtics) have a clearly defined go-to-guy.  This is also not a coincidence.  The best NBA teams are well-structured and well-rounded, as a one man show rarely makes it very far (save for an ’01 Iverson and an ’07 LeBron James).

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The Sixers have been abandoned again.  It was another three seasons of wasted basketball instead of moving closer to the ultimate goal of a championship.  There were risks taken, hearts broken and blood vessels busted.

Yet, taking a trip down memory lane, what if I told you that the Sixers’ woes began way before the Andrew Bynum trade last summer?  What if I told you that if the Sixers had just taken my advice that they’d be in the hunt for an NBA Championship right now as you’re reading this?

Without tooting my own horn too much, I’ll just let you see for yourself…
http://philadunkia.com/?p=263

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Early Tuesday afternoon, ESPN’s NBA Draft Insider Chad Ford reported that UNLV freshman forward Anthony Bennett will be out four months after surgery on his rotator cuff in his left shoulder that is expected to go down today.

Agent Jeff Schwartz confirms Bennett will be out up to 4 months.No draft workouts or summer league for Bennett

— Chad Ford (@chadfordinsider) May 7, 2013

 

That timetable will sideline him for the NBA Draft Combine and likely all of Summer League as well, but he will be scheduled to return for training camp.

Bennett will now join Nerlens Noel and Alex Len as the crop of talented big men that will enter the 2013 NBA Draft injured. Noel’s torn ACL might have knocked him out of the top pick in the draft and Len’s ankle surgery will also likely hurt his draft stock, too.

So, if Noel, the one-time shoo-in for the No. 1 Overall pick in this year’s draft, can have his stock lowered by a devastating injury, why can’t Bennett’s stock drop as well?  Could it drop enough so the 76ers have a chance at drafting him?

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The other day, I wrote how the 76ers should approach building a real contender by tanking and trading for superior but injured players.   Today, we will assume that their are enough parts in place to build something.

Like a hostile takeover of a corporate entity, cutting the dead weight is an obvious first step.  From there we will look at some undervalued assets around the league, similar to what was done in (A plan for 13-14).

What to do with “The Enigma”, Evan Turner?  It’s quite simple actually.  Whomever the GM for the Sixers is, he needs to call ET into his office on a weekday morning.  From there, they should ask, “Evan, if we can trade you to another team, is that something you would be interested in?”

The obvious answer will be yes.  The next move is to pick up the phone and call every single NBA team.  It will certainly be a humbling experience for Mr. Turner.  A combination of quick hang ups, laughs and outrageous demands (give us your lottery pick, is Thad coming too, We will give you Beasley/Bargnani/Ellis for ET, we require all the tea in china etc etc) will make it obvious to ET that the NBA truly has no interest in his services at $6,700,000 for the 2013-2014 season.

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According to a report over at Yahoo Sports by Adrian Wojnarowski, the 76ers have received permission to interview Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Malone as well as Utah Jazz assistant and former Sixer Jeff Hornacek for the franchise’s head-coaching vacancy.  According to Woj’s sources, “Malone is considered a serious candidate for the Sixers job.  The Sixers have been doing a great deal of research on Malone and getting excellent feedback”

Earlier this week, Dei Lynam of csnphilly.com fame posted a story in which her sources said the 7-6 have “contacted” Pacers’ associate head coach Brian Shaw about their vacant head-coaching position.  Obviously the Pacers are currently in the playoffs and hold a 3-2 lead over the Atlanta Hawks in their first round series, so it could be sometime before Shaw will actually interview for the Sixers job opening.

Now, I know the rumor mill is going to churn out a lot of these stories until the opening is filled.  Some of them will be accurate and others not so much.  And I am happy to see that the Sixers front office is doing their due diligence and interviewing a number of prospects.  Lastly, let me just say that I have nothing against giving any of these alleged candidates (so far) a look see.

Still, I have to ask, ‘Has anyone in the Sixers organization even sent Phil Jackson so much as a introductory text message?’

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