There is "little that Bryan Colangelo likes more than a stiff basketball challenge and the wherewithal to make things happen in a hurry," so it would appear the incoming 76ers President of Basketball Operations & GM has "landed what he might see as a dream job," according to Doug Smith of the TORONTO STAR. Colangelo will be armed with "all kinds of assets and few immediate expectations," making for what could be "one of the wildest summers" in 76ers history (TORONTO STAR, 4/8). In Philadelphia, Keith Pompey notes Colangelo was "originally expected to be introduced" on Monday, but the team "may have to move that up to Sunday to "avoid clashing for news coverage with the Phillies' home opener." Meanwhile, sources said that 76ers coach Brett Brown's job "is safe," but that "doesn't mean the coach can relax." New GMs "like to bring in their own coaches, especially successful ones" like Colangelo. Brown said, "I don't know Bryan well at all. I know a lot about Bryan, and I know people that I respect and have known for years that know a lot about Bryan. I think that it's something that we will talk more about later" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 4/8). THE VERTICAL's Adrian Wojnarowski wrote what is "unfair to Bryan Colangelo is this: He's no charity case, but the cries of nepotism are unavoidable." Wojnarowski: "If Bryan Colangelo had a brash disposition that could turn people off, people have seen him humbled" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/7). ESPN's David Jacoby said of 76ers Chair of Basketball Jerry Colangelo's plan to hire his son to help run the team, "No matter where you work, no matter what profession, whether you work at an ice cream shop or you're CEO of a hedge fund, or everywhere in between, when the boss says, 'Hey, I've got a plan. Here's how the new structure is going to work: You are going to share power with my son,' you know it's time to go" ("Jalen & Jacoby," ESPNEWS, 4/8).
LETTER HEAD: THE VERTICAL's Wojnarowski reported Hinkie, who addressed 76ers ownership in a 13-page letter, was "mortified to see his words in the public arena, never expecting that a private correspondence to his superiors would become public and turn into something of a mocked manifesto." He "wanted to tell his staff of his decision on late Wednesday or Thursday morning, once he talked with ownership about how his departure would be made public." Within two hours of sending the letter it "had been leaked." Sources said that Hinkie had a "strong suspicion" Jerry Colangelo leaked the letter. Sources also said that Jerry Colangelo in the end "wanted two things: to turn Hinkie into a glorified director of analytics; or run him out completely." Sources added that 76ers ownership "resisted on completely abandoning Hinkie" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/7). In Philadelphia, Bob Ford writes Hinkie is "smart enough" to know that his 7,000-word resignation letter sent to a dozen people was "not going to remain private." Ford: "What I can't decide is whether the letter is an application for his next job or a plea for Sixers ownership to lose the scales that have formed over their eyes and recognize the scorned genius they are allowing to walk out the door" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 4/8). In N.Y., Victor Mather notes Hinkie's resignation letter "mounts a vigorous, if meandering, defense of his methods." If the 76ers do "get good, Hinkie may even get some of the credit." But three seasons "are lost, three seasons in which loyal fans watched the team lose again and again, while paying full NBA prices" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/8). ESPN's Jalen Rose said, "(Sam) Hinkie has become the fall guy because it has happened so bad so fast." Rose added of Hinkie's resignation letter, "He is not taking necessary ownership in the decisions he made" ("Jalen & Jacoby," ESPNEWS, 4/8).
FORESHADOWING: In Philadelphia, Marcus Hayes writes Hinkie "quitting was the most cowardly move of all." Had he "stayed he might have been fired, but if he was fired he could have claimed martyrdom to his ideals." Instead Hinkie's letter "painted himself as a tortured, unappreciated genius." Hayes: "The arrogance is staggering" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 4/8). USA TODAY's Jeff Zillgitt writes the 76ers "were hoping" the Hinkie-Jerry Colangelo partnership "could work." But it "couldn't and didn't, two different philosophies at odds." Sources said that the team was "not trying to force out Hinkie." But intentionally or not, Hinkie and Jerry Colangelo "created distance between each other." There was "never much of a relationship, and Hinkie never warmed" to the idea of Jerry Colangelo's involvement. High-ranking team officials "are disappointed in Hinkie's departure." The officials like Hinkie's "intellect, ideas and patience, but they also felt he needed help with basketball ops, especially in the relationship business" (USA TODAY, 4/8). But CBS Sports Network's Adam Schein said the 76ers under Hinkie "were the worst, the absolute worse. A clueless, rudderless, hapless, pathetic shop sailing haphazardly with no real plan." Schein: "This is what boggles my mind. I can't believe for years smart people, brilliant people, basketball people, journalists, fans, bought into the nonsense, actually bought into what Hinkie asked" ("Time to Schein," CBSSN, 4/7). NBA TV's Tas Melas said, "There is a balance. You just can't have a culture of no winning whatsoever, but at the same time they had this plan proposed. They didn't give him enough time execute it" ("The Starters," NBA TV, 4/7).
BITING THE DUST: In Philadelphia, Marc Narducci notes 76ers coach Brown was "somber when discussing Hinkie, who gave him his first NBA head coaching job." Brown: "I think on many levels today is an unfortunate day. I think that Sam's abilities and what Sam has done since he has been here, although challenged all over the country, it is disappointing for him not to be a part of what will happen over the next few months" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 4/8). ESPN.com held a roundtable with its NBA reporters and discussed Hinkie's tenure. ESPN.com's Kevin Arnovitz said, "Sixers ownership lost its stomach for having the 'longest view in the room.' ... With better salesmanship, Hinkie might have been able to buy the plan a bit more time." ESPN L.A.'s Ramona Shelburne added, "He's incredible intellectually, with bold ideas, but you have to translate those ideas to the people affected by them." ESPN.com's Marc Stein said, "You've got to speak to your fan base when you're running a team and at least try to make them feel like they can understand the plan" (ESPN.com, 4/7).
COULD IT WORK? In Philadelphia, Bob Cooney writes Hinkie has "certainly left the franchise in good hands, with plenty of money to spend and numerous high draft picks not only for the upcoming draft, but for a few years after that." All of those things are "possible because of the work of Hinkie." Cooney: "That cannot be understated or forgotten" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 4/8). THE VERTICAL's Chris Mannix wrote under the header, "History Not Done With Sam Hinkie's Bold Rebuilding Plan." Hinkie's authority "had vanished, and the embattled executive clearly wasn't interested in becoming a rapidly diminishing voice in an organization determined to add more of them." History -- for now -- will "record Hinkie's three-year term in Philadelphia as a failure." But across the league, NBA execs "continue to wonder: What if Hinkie's plan works?" Hinkie will "be back in the NBA, though where and in what capacity remains to be seen" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/7). SI.com's Andrew Sharp wrote "whatever you want to say about Sam Hinkie, he was never boring." The 76ers "sacrificed three full NBA seasons" to his process, which was "every bit as crazy and ambitious as advertised" (SI.com, 4/7).
MIXING OLD & NEW: In N.Y., Harvey Araton notes Jerry Colangelo "has the job people thought or joked" Knicks President Phil Jackson was getting "when he signed on" in '14. Jerry Colangelo "didn't get to where he is in the sports industry by ignoring evolutionary trends." He understands that former GM Sam Hinkie was "right to recognize that the NBA's free-agency system is not designed to encourage movement, especially to bad teams, because it allows an incumbent franchise the right of first refusal and the ability to pay its own players much more." Colangelo has "been around long enough to want to mix some old-fashioned instinct with new-age numbers" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/8).
