Someone posted this article in CB http://www.celticshub.com/2018/04/09/misplacing-trust-process/ - it is one of the few that put things in the right perspective.
We can go on debating the value of picks all we want, but Bernandoni's article brings out another important aspect of strategic tanking that often goes unnoticed, namely that it can't be tolerated for long in a closed league like the NBA.
The part of Philly's tanking that was disturbing to other franchises wasn't so much their trades (although there is something to be said about trading Jrue Holiday for an injured Noel) nor drafting an injured Embiid - despite how absured it is now for the same franchise to claim Embiid's fragile health as an excuse.
Strategic tanking was a defense of egoism at its worse, abusing the letter of the law to get highly valued assets while ignoring your team's obligations to the league, as if Philadelphia itself wasn't part of the NBA and existed in a vaccuum. It was only a question of time for NBA to interfere and ask for Hinkie to be fired teaching them that egoism is a sword that cuts both ways.
the thing is Philly doesn't have the worst season ever, doesn't have the 2 worst consecutive seasons ever, doesn't have the 3 or 4 worst seasons ever either and only finished with the worst record in the league 1 time. This idea that Philly was the worst ever just isn't true. They were bad, but not record setting bad. They weren't the first team to openly tank and aren't the last team to openly tank. The league survives just fine.
What point are you trying to make? I don't see anyone who said the 76ers were the worst team ever. Per their record they were the 3rd worst team ever which was preceded by two seasons of under 20 wins. It may not be the worst 3 year stretch ever but it's close. The Dallas Mavs of 91-93 probably were worse as were one of Sterling's Clippers teams and maybe the expansion Grizzlies but it's tough to find many more cases of teams that were truly horrible. That they're not the "worst ever" isn't really an argument to make in favor of Hinkie. If that's your argument then you've lost the plot.
As I said before, Hinkie's entire game plan was hoping for luck. This doesn't take a genius to figure out nor did it take any imagination. It simply means you play those odds long enough for them to swing in your favor. I find it laughable that anyone thinks this is some sort of brilliant strategy.
would you rather be the Sixers or the Kings? Or maybe you prefer to be the Suns? Perhaps the Magic or Lakers? Maybe the Knicks are more your style?
Playing the odds isn't luck, it is in fact a strategy. Maybe if those 5 teams above were a bit smarter they wouldn't still be so bad and might have a brighter outlook. I mean the Kings haven't made the playoffs in 12 seasons, the Suns have now gone 8 seasons, the Magic are at 6 and counting. Even the Knicks and Lakers are now 5 years in without making the playoffs, which is the exact amount of time the Sixers were out of the playoffs (the Nuggets are 5 years in as well, though they at least just missed the playoffs this year).
Or maybe you'd rather be a franchise like the Hornets that has now gone 15 seasons without reaching the 2nd round of the playoffs and only had 3 1st round losses in that time. Does that seem like a winning strategy? The Pistons have 1 playoff appearance in the last 9 seasons and just 1 winning season in the last 10 seasons. Are they employing a winning strategy?
No, those teams stink. They are embarrassing, with the exception of the Lakers, who have had too much historic success to be lumped with the Kings and Knicks.
To find a winning strategy, you'll need to look at the other end of the NBA standings.
I think that Hinkie's strategy will end up working. That being said, it is pathetic. Long-term intentional losing is a strategy that a middling franchise can deal with, but one that a proud fan should look at with pity.
Call me bullheaded, but I'm not dropping $300 so my wife and I can watch a team's worst players get smoked by 20pts. Far too many things to do to support that BS.
Topic: Sam Hinkie was a genius. He's 100% right now. (Read 37505 times)