Happy trails to Hinkie's Power.

[Who]

I expect Colangelo was hired as an executive advisor. An extra sounding board for the owners and for Hinkie. Someone who can offer advice and guidance ... but will not be taking over and running the team himself.

Sort of like Jerry West on the Warriors.

An extra pair of eyes and ears with loads of experience.

[Moranis]

How about a little exercise...   

Forget about Philly's top assets for a moment (Embiid, Saric, Noel, Okafor, 2016 top 5, 2016/17 top 5 via Lakers) ...  Obviously there's disagreement (though I'd argue their two best assets are better than our two best assets)

FOrget about Philly's middle tier assets like Stauskas, Covington, Wroten, Grant, Thompson, Sampson, etc...   Obviously there's some disagreement  (though I'd argue they at-worst are comparable with our Rozier, Hunter, Mickey and Young assets).

Let's also forget about their 60 million in cap space and the relative ease they could sign Jerekbo, Bass, Lee, Turner-level talent. 

Instead... let's focus on one tiny aspect of their assets.  Miami's Top 10 protected pick and Oklahoma's top 15 protected pick.   Right now, those two picks project to be #24 and #26...

Let's get an honest opinion here.   Take a look at Boston's entire roster.  It's deep, but there's a gluttony of Power forwards.  Lots of parity and mediocrity. 

Someone list off all the players you would honestly gladly dump on Philly right now for one of those late 1sts they own from Miami/OKC.    In previous years, we dumped guys like Jeff Green for one of those picks.  Last year, we acquired Isaiah Thomas for Cleveland's 2016 pick....   Let's get an honest opinion about the value of those two late 1sts.   Remember, philly has cap space to swallow salary... who would you honestly move right now for ONE of those picks?   Let's see how deep that list is.    Bonus points:  What players would you move for BOTH of those picks?

Coming into the last draft, Dustin Chapman put together a post that looked at the last 20 years of late first round draft picks.  The post is here, http://www.celticsblog.com/2015/5/24/8652941/a-look-at-late-first-round-nba-draft-picks-of-the-last-20-years, but this is what he found for the two picks you mention.

24TH OVERALL PICK
Accumulative Stats (Last 20 #24 Overall Picks): 9.1 PPG - 3.5 RPG - 2.4 APG
All-Stars: 2 - Andrei Kirilenko (1), Kyle Lowry (1)


26TH OVERALL PICK
Accumulative Stats (Last 20 #26 Overall Picks): 8.8 PPG - 4.1 RPG - 1.6 APG
All-Stars: 0

So, no one with a brain would trade Smart, Bradley, Turner, Sully, KO, Crowder or IT for either or both of those picks.  Probably also wouldn't trade Young, Jerebko, Zeller or Rozier.  Might trade RJ, Mickey or Zeller but only if Ainge and Stevens are unhappy with them.

So, basically, the only players Boston would likely trade for those picks would be Lee or Amir and that would only be due to them being older veterans who are unlikely to stick around long term.  Both have been and are better than the players we'd be likely to get at either of those spots.

Oh, I forgot.  Those are Philly's picks so they magically become massively more valuable in your eyes.

Mike

Completely false.  This response is entirely off base.  Try again.   In recent Boston Celtic history alone, we've seen Boston both trade away higher caliber players than the ones you're listing (Jeff Green, Rajon Rondo) for late 1sts... as well as acquire higher caliber players than the ones you're listing (Isaiah Thomas). 

You underestimate the value of removing extra unneeded vets for 1st round picks.   Come on... we've been following this league for years.  You haven't seen a veteran traded for a late 1st before?   As recently as last year we were desperate to trade Brandon Bass for one.

Did you actually just refer to a Memphis pick that won't convey until 2018 AT THE EARLIEST as a 'late first'? You can't be serious.

Does a top 12 protected 2018 Memphis pick have more value than a top 10 protected 2016 Miami pick?   That's interesting.  Ya'll know that Miami is basically in a 10-way tie for 1st-10th...  That pick could certainly end up in the teens.  You think it inherently has less trade value than a Top 12 protected 2018 Memphis pick?    ... You mean you'd rather gamble on a Top 12 pick from Memphis that can't convey until 2018 at the earliest... instead of taking a top 10 protected Miami pick this year?   That sounds downright Hinkie-esque!

I think I've sufficiently made my point.  People can disagree with me.  It's fine.   Philly has options, though.  Lots and lots of options.  Should be interesting to see what they do.

My point was that it's insane to try and project where that pick will fall at least 3 years from now, and calling it a 'late first' allows you to pretend like decent players are given away for free in this league.

Yes, but Wade or Bosh could get hurt, Durant could miss more time, etc. and those late 1sts aren't so late anymore.

[ssspence]

I think this whole thing is an overreaction because it's good media.

As Zach Lowe pointed out yesterday, Hinkie still has yet to lose a trade. Owner's are annoyed about money, the league got the Sixers to add a highly respected figure head to save face.

I don't buy that Colangalo is going to GM the Sixers. I suspect here's there to give Hinkie a basketball boss who may check him here and there if he's going to -- for example -- make more player for pick trades that will keep them bad too long.

Because they've been bad for a few years, the hand wringing is understandable. But the team could get a lot better very quickly -- fairly easy to see how they may be an up and coming squad as early as next season, and certainly in 2017-18. Put another way: Hinkie KNEW the team would be like this in order to accomplish his goal, and so did his owners... so why lose faith now? 

[oldtype]

http://mweb.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25407559/report-sixers-hiring-of-colangelo-means-sam-hinkie-is-essentially-fired

Welp, that escalated quickly.

[fairweatherfan]

http://mweb.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25407559/report-sixers-hiring-of-colangelo-means-sam-hinkie-is-essentially-fired

Welp, that escalated quickly.

But he still gets paychecks?  Not a bad deal all things considered.

[Moranis]

article seems to be a whole lot of speculation without any facts

[celticsclay]

http://mweb.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25407559/report-sixers-hiring-of-colangelo-means-sam-hinkie-is-essentially-fired

Welp, that escalated quickly.

I don't know the writer, so won't 100% jump on board with the article being fact. However, there are two "sources" and its not exactly a bleacher report article. Hinkie very well could be just collecting paychecks. Haven't seen anything from WOJ yet, or would like to see a more updated article from Lowe.

[colincb]

Hinkie will get a nice window seat and after a respectable amount of time leave to pursue other interests. Otherwise it makes Harris's original hiring mistake all too obvious.

[Lucky17]

http://mweb.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25407559/report-sixers-hiring-of-colangelo-means-sam-hinkie-is-essentially-fired

Welp, that escalated quickly.

But he still gets paychecks?  Not a bad deal all things considered.

Well, there's no just cause for firing, and Harris probably understood this. This is the alternative option.

[tazzmaniac]

How about a little exercise...   

Forget about Philly's top assets for a moment (Embiid, Saric, Noel, Okafor, 2016 top 5, 2016/17 top 5 via Lakers) ...  Obviously there's disagreement (though I'd argue their two best assets are better than our two best assets)

FOrget about Philly's middle tier assets like Stauskas, Covington, Wroten, Grant, Thompson, Sampson, etc...   Obviously there's some disagreement  (though I'd argue they at-worst are comparable with our Rozier, Hunter, Mickey and Young assets).

Let's also forget about their 60 million in cap space and the relative ease they could sign Jerekbo, Bass, Lee, Turner-level talent. 

Instead... let's focus on one tiny aspect of their assets.  Miami's Top 10 protected pick and Oklahoma's top 15 protected pick.   Right now, those two picks project to be #24 and #26...

Let's get an honest opinion here.   Take a look at Boston's entire roster.  It's deep, but there's a gluttony of Power forwards.  Lots of parity and mediocrity. 

Someone list off all the players you would honestly gladly dump on Philly right now for one of those late 1sts they own from Miami/OKC.    In previous years, we dumped guys like Jeff Green for one of those picks.  Last year, we acquired Isaiah Thomas for Cleveland's 2016 pick....   Let's get an honest opinion about the value of those two late 1sts.   Remember, philly has cap space to swallow salary... who would you honestly move right now for ONE of those picks?   Let's see how deep that list is.    Bonus points:  What players would you move for BOTH of those picks?

Coming into the last draft, Dustin Chapman put together a post that looked at the last 20 years of late first round draft picks.  The post is here, http://www.celticsblog.com/2015/5/24/8652941/a-look-at-late-first-round-nba-draft-picks-of-the-last-20-years, but this is what he found for the two picks you mention.

24TH OVERALL PICK
Accumulative Stats (Last 20 #24 Overall Picks): 9.1 PPG - 3.5 RPG - 2.4 APG
All-Stars: 2 - Andrei Kirilenko (1), Kyle Lowry (1)


26TH OVERALL PICK
Accumulative Stats (Last 20 #26 Overall Picks): 8.8 PPG - 4.1 RPG - 1.6 APG
All-Stars: 0

So, no one with a brain would trade Smart, Bradley, Turner, Sully, KO, Crowder or IT for either or both of those picks.  Probably also wouldn't trade Young, Jerebko, Zeller or Rozier.  Might trade RJ, Mickey or Zeller but only if Ainge and Stevens are unhappy with them.

So, basically, the only players Boston would likely trade for those picks would be Lee or Amir and that would only be due to them being older veterans who are unlikely to stick around long term.  Both have been and are better than the players we'd be likely to get at either of those spots.

Oh, I forgot.  Those are Philly's picks so they magically become massively more valuable in your eyes.

Mike

Completely false.  This response is entirely off base.  Try again.   In recent Boston Celtic history alone, we've seen Boston both trade away higher caliber players than the ones you're listing (Jeff Green, Rajon Rondo) for late 1sts... as well as acquire higher caliber players than the ones you're listing (Isaiah Thomas). 

You underestimate the value of removing extra unneeded vets for 1st round picks.   Come on... we've been following this league for years.  You haven't seen a veteran traded for a late 1st before?   As recently as last year we were desperate to trade Brandon Bass for one.

Did you actually just refer to a Memphis pick that won't convey until 2018 AT THE EARLIEST as a 'late first'? You can't be serious.

Does a top 12 protected 2018 Memphis pick have more value than a top 10 protected 2016 Miami pick?   That's interesting.  Ya'll know that Miami is basically in a 10-way tie for 1st-10th...  That pick could certainly end up in the teens.  You think it inherently has less trade value than a Top 12 protected 2018 Memphis pick?    ... You mean you'd rather gamble on a Top 12 pick from Memphis that can't convey until 2018 at the earliest... instead of taking a top 10 protected Miami pick this year?   That sounds downright Hinkie-esque!

I think I've sufficiently made my point.  People can disagree with me.  It's fine.   Philly has options, though.  Lots and lots of options.  Should be interesting to see what they do.

My point was that it's insane to try and project where that pick will fall at least 3 years from now, and calling it a 'late first' allows you to pretend like decent players are given away for free in this league.

Yes, but Wade or Bosh could get hurt, Durant could miss more time, etc. and those late 1sts aren't so late anymore.

Miami has also played 14 games at home and only 6 on the road so their record is probably a bit inflated.   

[MBunge]

As Zach Lowe pointed out yesterday, Hinkie still has yet to lose a trade. Owner's are annoyed about money, the league got the Sixers to add a highly respected figure head to save face.

I don't buy that Colangalo is going to GM the Sixers. I suspect here's there to give Hinkie a basketball boss who may check him here and there if he's going to -- for example -- make more player for pick trades that will keep them bad too long.

Because they've been bad for a few years, the hand wringing is understandable. But the team could get a lot better very quickly -- fairly easy to see how they may be an up and coming squad as early as next season, and certainly in 2017-18. Put another way: Hinkie KNEW the team would be like this in order to accomplish his goal, and so did his owners... so why lose faith now?

1.  They're 1-22 with a -12 point differential per game, so you can hardly say the Sixers have won any of those trades themselves.  It's a push a best.  That could change if they get two top three picks in this next draft, of course.

2.  It's hard to imagine Colangelo taking over the team but there's no way he's just there as a PR move.  Why would he waste his time?

3.  Even if they get Simmons, the Sixers are years away from being competitive.  The Cavs didn't win 50 games until LeBron's third year and they started from a much better spot than Philly will.

Mike

[Donoghus]

For the people that continue to think that the Colangelo move means nothing in Philly.

From Ken Berger of CBS Sports today:

Josh Harris' office is located six city blocks from Adam Silver's, so given their mutual interest in the success of a $5 billion business, it's no surprise that they'd occasionally bump into each other and talk.

As a member of the NBA's planning committee, Harris often has formal business to conduct with the commissioner. But this business was more pressing. This was Harris, as the managing owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, realizing he had a problem on his hands.

The problem, as outlined here, was that his team was awful -- and in the view of observers around the league, getting worse. As teams go through cycles of winning and rebuilding and then doing it all over again, it's a common refrain among personnel decision-makers that you can only sell two things in the NBA: success and hope.

Harris' Sixers had neither.

The tipping point was the revelation that the team's foundational star, No. 3 pick Jahlil Okafor, had gone rogue with a series of legal transgressions -- including a much-publicized fight outside a Boston nightclub. Not that a grown, 19-year-old man needs a babysitter, but Okafor had arrived after one championship season at Duke and been dropped into a rancid dunk tank of losing, with virtually no veterans around to show him the way.

It's not clear who called whom, or exactly when, but it was around this time when Harris and Silver first spoke about how best to reroute the organization's course.

"[Harris] realized this is a tremendous asset that he has, and that it's not just about my draft picks and not just about my wins and losses," a league source familiar with the discussions told CBS Sports.

Harris and his partners, including fellow private equity titan David Blitzer, came to the conclusion that they needed what one league source described as a "course correction."

"It was him saying, 'I need help,'" the source said.

Enter Jerry Colangelo, the 76-year-old architect of USA Basketball's renaissance, former Suns owner and past chairman of the league's Board of Governors to save the day.

For Silver, I'm guessing that a team on the West Coast that's 23-0 and one on the East Coast that's 1-21 isn't what he had in mind when he reconstructed the league's collective bargaining agreement four years ago in search of competitive balance. But while the commissioner had a role in the Sixers hiring Colangelo to right the ship, how proactive Silver was has been a bit misunderstood.

Silver did not compel Harris to make the change, nor did other owners twist his arm to intervene, a person familiar with the highest levels of the talks told CBS Sports. When Harris asked for advice, Silver gave it in the form of a list of people with what one person described as "real-life experiences" to consider for the job. At the top of the list was Colangelo, who Silver has known since his first day in the NBA 23 years ago.

Silver spoke with Colangelo to gage his interest, made the introduction to Harris, and then stepped aside, league sources said. Silver is not even privy to the details of Colangelo's contract, which league sources speculate includes an ownership stake in addition to control over basketball decisions. His official title: Special Advisor to the Managing General Partner and Chairman of Basketball Operations.

Sam Hinkie, architect of the Sixers' three-year strategy of rebuilding through scraping the bottom of the standings while collecting future draft picks like bubble-gum cards, remains the general manager in title alone. No one in the league expects Hinkie's voice to carry over Colangelo's when it comes to personnel decisions going forward. That ship has sailed, along with the needlessly complex equations that built it.

[PhoSita]

Philly ownership can't exactly blame Hinkie for the current state of the team.  Hinkie has followed a clear cut strategy and never deviated from it. 

Unless he sold them on an entirely different plan than the one he's implemented, I'm guessing they gave him the green light when they hired him, and now they're having trouble living with the consequences.

It seems silly to look down on Hinkie now that it turns out the Sixers didn't have the stomach for his plan.  The fact that the Sixers are 1-21 isn't evidence that he's done a poor job, because according to the plan he's followed, having a terrible team in the third year of this process was highly likely.  Ownership can't blame the architect for building what they hired him to build.

[Who]

Owners cannot blame Hinkie.

Owners chose direction of the team.

Hinkie offered them two choices (1) build with guys they got [Jrue Holiday and Co.] (2) start over from scratch through draft. They choose option two. Start over from scratch.

Hinkie was happy to do it either way. To build like Morey did in Houston (or Ainge now in Boston). Or like OKC or Orlando have done through the draft. The owners made the decision. Hinkie is just following directions of the ownership.

[Lucky17]

Philly ownership can't exactly blame Hinkie for the current state of the team.  Hinkie has followed a clear cut strategy and never deviated from it. 

Unless he sold them on an entirely different plan than the one he's implemented, I'm guessing they gave him the green light when they hired him, and now they're having trouble living with the consequences.

It seems silly to look down on Hinkie now that it turns out the Sixers didn't have the stomach for his plan.  The fact that the Sixers are 1-21 isn't evidence that he's done a poor job, because according to the plan he's followed, having a terrible team in the third year of this process was highly likely.  Ownership can't blame the architect for building what they hired him to build.

I agree. It's why they really can't fire him, either. Instead, they need to bring in Colangelo to help rehabilitate the image and culture of the franchise.

Colangelo likely carries a lot of water with agents and execs. I wonder if we'll see some trades or free agent signings to try to bring in some veterans who can help stabilize the morale of the team -- without reversing #theprocess.