For over three years we watched Sam Hinkie lead the Sixers into a very controversial, tumultuous downfall, in the hope of ultimately bringing them out from the ashes to glory. Now as we all know that period is all but over.
This is not to say the Sixers are all of a sudden a better team, but one thing is clear, the time of stockpiling assets and accepting losing for that goal is done. The father-son duo of Jerry and Bryan Colangelo will be moving much more aggressively than Hinkie. With the 1st pick in the draft in tact and a logjam of big men to work with, Bryan Colangelo will not be looking to sit still this free agency.
Trade rumors are already swirling, primarily focused on the moving of Sixers forward/center Nerlens Noel and center Jahlil Okafor, the 3rd pick in last year’s draft. Both players will have valuable trade value; Okafor’s being the higher of the two. Questions remain whether or not the team will find an offer they like enough to pull the trigger, but it seems more likely than not the team will be moving on from one or even both of these players. The two didn’t seem to mesh on the floor well last year and the 3rd overall pick from the 2014 draft, center Joel Embiid is seemingly going to be starting his first games of his career come the fall. The issue here is if the team moves on from both Okafor and Noel, they are left investing a lot of hope in a player who has not played a game in two years due to serious foot injuries.
One rumor that has seemingly gained a bit of traction is a deal that would swap Noel with Hawks point-guard Jeff Teague. Whether or not this happens, this rumor itself shows a clear difference in the Colangelo era. The idea of moving one of their young assets for a point guard who’s nearly 28 years old and in the final year of his contract is something you would never even hear discussed under Sam Hinkie. While we cannot say which way of thinking will pay off most, we can say the next few years under the Colangelos will be far different than the previous 3 under Sam Hinkie.
The impact Hinkie left cannot be forgotten though because were it not for the moves he made, Bryan Colangelo would not be able to have these assets to move and work with in order to hasten their rebuilding process. One lasting fear, has to be that the inability of Hinkie able to see his “process” through to the end, combined with the near polar opposite approach of Colangelo, will somehow end up leaving the Sixers in a state of limbo in the East where they continuously win 40-45 games but never progress towards championship quality.
In the end, the hope of Sixers fans now rests in the hands of Jerry and Bryan Colangelo.
