Former Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie, the architect of “The Process,” said he’s “stoked” to see his longtime friend and former boss Daryl Morey take over as the new president of basketball operations in Philadelphia. However, Hinkie himself won’t be returning to the franchise in a role under Morey, as he told Pablo Torre on the ESPN Daily podcast.
“Zero,” Hinkie said when asked by Torre for the odds that he’ll join Morey in the Sixers’ front office (hat tip to RealGM). “I’ve turned that chapter for sure. That part of my life. I very much like what I’m doing now. I like surrounding myself with people who think in sort of the time frames I do, which is often longer. That are quite comfortable with long feedback loops. That want to do the kinds of things I do, which is bet on young people and watch them flourish.”
Hinkie, who is running a venture capital firm known as Eighty-Seven Capital, offered the same response when asked by Torre for the odds that he’ll return to an NBA front office in any capacity.
“Zero. Zero,” he said. “The same.”
The head of basketball operations in Philadelphia for three years from 2013-16, Hinkie took an extreme approach to the Sixers’ rebuild, as the team bottomed out to previously unforeseen lows while stockpiling future assets.
The 76ers posted a record of 47-199 (.191) during Hinkie’s tenure, culminating with a 10-72 showing in 2015/16. However, Philadelphia also drafted future All-NBA center Joel Embiid in 2014 and positioned itself to select Ben Simmons in 2016, shortly after Hinkie’s departure from the franchise.
Prior to his arrival in Philadelphia, Hinkie worked in the Rockets’ front office under Morey from 2005-13. He hasn’t held an NBA job since leaving the Sixers though, and his comments to Torre indicate he doesn’t expect to ever do so again.