Categories for Sixers

Sam Hinkie Shakes Up the Sixers, Again

February 20, 2015 Randy Neil

Yesterday, Sam Hinkie traded away considerable pieces to what was thought to be cornerstones in a long term rebuilding plan for the 76ers franchise.  The biggest piece was Michael Carter-Williams, 2013-14 NBA Rookie of the Year, which has left some people questioning the decision.

Hinkie addressed the media this morning and elaborated on the mindset behind some of these decisions.  He noted that while trading Carter-Williams was difficult, in put them in a place where they were more hopeful for the future.  Hinkie gushed about the flexibility these additional assets gave them, noting that there is no timetable or certainty to the culmination of these moves.

As a Sixers fan, I can’t make up my mind about these trades.  More importantly, neither can you.  Neither can Sam Hinkie.  He understands that a lot of these moves are calculated risks which can pay off big, but also can work out to be nothing.

It’s hard to explain to a 2015 fan that these moves put the franchise in a ‘better’ position.  Not only is long-term projection a difficult thing for an emotionally invested fan, but more so when everyone in the Philadelphia area has witnessed considerable progress in this season alone.

I can honestly say I’ve watched more games this season attentively than any other season.  It was interesting to see the player development that Sam Hinkie iterates constantly, in spite of their wins and losses.  You could see a progression in this team’s chemistry and resolve.

That might be the biggest factor in my hesitance to embrace these moves.  Metaphorically, we are playing 5-card stud and trying to have unlimited re-draws.  Right now, we are hoping for something better and a lot of us thought the hand we had  could play into something big already.  Who knows what cards we are going to pick up, and that’s the scary part.

More importantly, what kind of morale does this have on the players whom Hinkie does consider long-term pieces to this rebuilding process?  How much does that factor into his decision making?

When Joel-Hans Embiid is tweeting this —

— you have to wonder what kind of mindset this will put him in regarding his future in Philadelphia.  He has since Tweeted much more optimistic things, but again, these are intangibles.

When you look at a championship caliber player like Lebron James, it’s pretty clear that the faith in his franchise weighs on his decision making.  When we speculate in a high draft pick like Joel-Hans Embiid to be that type of player, those things should be considered.

I guess, in a Brett Brown New-England accent, I will just need to, “Trust the Prawcess.”

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Charles Barkley and Sam Hinkie Got Beef

July 20, 2013 Randy Neil

In a recent interview, Charles Barkley was questioned about his former team, the 76ers’ coaching search.  He was pretty forthcoming about his opinion, calling it a “joke.”

I’m not sure how Hinkie feels about this, but I have to imagine he’s going to have some sort of diss track on his next mixtape.

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Can We Just Name Michael Curry The Coach Already?

July 8, 2013 Randy Neil

With the news of Adam Aron stepping down as CEO of the 76ers, Scott O’Neil has been named the current CEO of the franchise.  Along with a new general manager, the Sixers have revamped almost their entire front office and yet there is still one prominent vacancy that stands out this off-season.

We don’t have a head coach.

That fact has been lingering around ever since Doug Collins departed in April (March if we’re being honest.)  The Sixers haven’t been very vocal in their search for a new coach, either.  There really hasn’t been much press regarding who we are interviewing, who are the candidates, or likely favorites, which leads me to believe that Michael Curry is going to fill that role.

Which, I’m fine with.  If you aren’t familiar, Curry has been the 76ers Assistant Coach to Doug Collins for the past few years and acted as the Head Coach for the Pistons during the 2008-09 season.  His record was 39-43 with Detroit.

From my very diligent reporting and observation, Curry seems to be a player favorite in the locker room.  During Collin’s somewhat ugly final months with the Sixers, there was even talk of the player’s preferring Curry’s leadership over Collins.  Doug has always endorsed Curry’s ability to coach and praised him during their tenure together.

With a lot of the high-profile coaching vacancies filled, I’m preparing for the announcement of Michael Curry to become our head coach pretty soon.  Curry is currently coaching the 76ers’ Summer League team in Las Vegas as we speak.

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The Arsalan Kazemi Dunk Reel

July 4, 2013 Randy Neil

The NBA draft played a huge role in shaping the 2013-14 76ers, and one of the most entertaining prospects we acquired during that period is Iranian-born Arsalan Kazemi. Originally drafted by the Washington Wizards, he was traded to the Sixers and has sort of played to the Philadelphia fan-base since arriving.

Questions like this are going to get you a ton of Philly love –

So, while we await the start of the season, gaze at his dunk reel in awe.

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76ers Deny Hiring Brett Brown…. So Far

June 28, 2013 Randy Neil

Welp… that was a bender of a night, and unfortunately, the lady we took home to bed turned out to be a grotesque, out-of-shape, Big-Momma’s-House esque female.

What I’m saying is, general manager Sam Hinkie is now denying the report that the 76ers hired Brett Brown as their head coach. In spite of the crazy draft moves, we are still without a head coach, even though if you Google Brett Brown there’s still SEVERAL reports claiming that this is true.

It sure makes it hard on us guys who passionately write about a pretty crappy basketball team on their own free-time…

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Sixers Hire Brett Brown, Trade Jrue Holiday for Noel Nerlens

June 28, 2013 Randy Neil

What is going on with the Sixers?? In one day, the 76ers organization traded their 23-year old All-Star point guard away, named a head coach, and received one of the most sought-after centers in the 2013 NBA Draft.

Brett Brown was the Spur assistant coach and served under Greg Popovich for almost a decade. He also coached the 2012 Australian Olympic basketball team. I know absolutely nothing else about him. I’ll wait a few days to let this sink in and form my opinion, but if he’s anything like Pop, I’m on board.

Jrue Holiday was traded in the first round of this year’s draft for Noel Nerlens and a first-round 2014 pick. They followed that by drafting 6’6″ point-guard Michael Carter-Williams as the 11th pick, to whom I also know very little about.

This is a huge day for the 76ers and for new general manager Sam Hinkie. It shakes up the team quite a bit and it really leaves some pretty big question marks around the team.

The first that comes to mind… can we start building a team around people without huge question marks surrounding their health?

Noel Nerlens is coming off of an ACL injury which tends to be pretty disastrous for an NBA athlete. We traded away our only All-Star, a very young one at that, for a center that may have injury problems for his entire career. If it works out, great, but like that Bynum trade, this move can look really foolish in retrospect.

That also makes me believe that the chances of resigning Bynum have dwindled to nothing. This pleases me. Maybe for good measure we can give him a huge deal, though, and have two centers with knee problems.

Sam Hinkie has made some interesting moves in his short span as GM and they do not follow the conservative route. I guess I’m happy about that. The 2013 April team looks nothing like the team now and he’s probably going to make a lot more moves before the season starts. Something had to be done.

Let’s just see how it pans out. Btw, if you search the site for Doug Collins, you’ll find a post written by Adam from 3 years ago when Doug Collins was hired. Scary.

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