Former Philadelphia 76ers general manager and president of basketball operations Sam Hinkie was the champion of “The Process.” His bold strategy of accumulating as many draft picks as possible with the hopes of landing a potential superstar has been both praised and criticized by those around the League.

The NBA reportedly informed Philly to tone down their tanking efforts amid Hinkie’s reign (he went 47-199 over three seasons), which led principal owner Josh Harris to hire Jerry Colangelo as chairman of basketball operations in December 2015. Hinkie resigned four months later, and has since taken up jobs as a professor and tech-world consultant.

But according to Bleacher Report‘s Ric Bucher, current executives still seek out Hinkie’s advice today:

Still, sources both close to Hinkie and around the league said owners and executives routinely reach out to him for counsel. Several basketball operations vice presidents and owners said they would hire him, but they wouldn’t put him in charge. Others believe Hinkie and The Process weren’t given a full trial, and that he didn’t do anything wrong as much as the league turned on him. “They clearly changed the rules on Sam,” the longtime front office executive said. “That wasn’t all on him. If he lasts five more months, maybe it all looks different and he is given credit for what they’re doing now.”

With young stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons – two products of “The Process” – thriving, the Sixers hold the seventh seed in the East at 30-25.

RELATED

Joel Embiid: Sam Hinkie ‘Lost His Job Because of Me’

7,168