Former GM of the Philadelphia 76ers who orchestrated 'The Process' — a radical multi-year rebuild through systematic tanking designed to accumulate top draft picks and build a championship team.
The Process as strategic long-termism: Hinkie's approach (deliberately fielding non-competitive teams to get top draft picks, accumulating future assets rather than present wins) was analytically sophisticated — draft picks are the only mechanism to acquire elite NBA talent without paying market rates. The tension: 'The Process' required fans and ownership to tolerate years of losing in exchange for long-term championship potential. Hinkie was forced to resign (2016) before the strategy paid off — the team he built (Embiid, Simmons via his draft picks) subsequently made multiple playoff runs. His resignation letter became famous in strategy/management circles as a meditation on long-term thinking in organizations that measure short-term results.
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