Sam Hinkie's Future in Philadelphia

As the worst Sixers season in recent memory crawls to a close, Sam Hinkie’s future in Philadelphia remains a topic of discussion.

According to a source within the organization, Hinkie’s long-term future in Philadelphia may be in jeopardy. While it was not made clear if ‘in jeopardy’ refers to a potential title change or something further, and no sort of time table was given for a potential move, the [lack of] progress of the rebuild was cited as a main factor.

The source indicated that ownership was onboard with struggling on the court over the course of the past three seasons, but the uncertainty still surrounding the team’s future at this point in the process is an issue.

Despite a plethora of lottery picks over the past three drafts, there are still no player(s) on the Sixers that you can definitively point to as the future of the franchise. Sure, Joel Embiid might be that guy if he is healthy, and can remain so, but the ‘if’ in that equation can’t be ignored. Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor have both shown flashes of star potential, but both are limited in skill-set, and the front office is not sure that either is the key to the franchise’s future. 2014 lottery pick Dario Saric is also an organizational unknown at this point, although all reports indicate that Saric intends to join the Sixers this summer.

Overall, it seems as though there is a growing sense of “what do we have to show for all of this?” within the organization.

It is impossible not to acknowledge the impact of luck on Hinkie’s rebuild. Despite developing a reputation as one of the worst NBA teams ever over the course of the past couple seasons, the Sixers have not been rewarded with a single top two pick, and as a result they sit with the roster as currently constructed. By landing outside of the top two in the last two drafts, they missed out on potential franchise players in Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins – both landed in Minnesota – as well as exciting point guard prospect D’Angelo Russell. Instead, the Sixers ended up with Noel, Embiid, Okafor, and a lot of questions.

The upcoming summer is seminal for the franchise, and could very well impact and even determine Hinkie’s fate in Philadelphia. The Sixers could have four first round picks in the ’16 Draft, as well as ample cap space to make moves and improve the team. Although it may not be entirely fair, another lack of lottery luck (i.e. landing outside of the top two) could spell doom for Hinkie. Ownership does not intended to ‘tank’ again next season.

While the on-court product over the past three seasons hasn’t not been pretty, Sam Hinkie has put the 76ers in excellent position to succeed going forward – no bad contracts, lots of drafts picks, assets, ample cap space, and flexibility. The question is if he will be the one to build the team back up into a contender, or if that responsibility will fall elsewhere.