On Tuesday, April 6, 2016, Sam Hinkie disappeared from the basketball world.
In his 13-page resignation letter, the former Philadelphia 76ers GM and Head of Basketball Operations came to grips with the crushing reality of his failed project. He left under the darkness of night and left behind but one piece of what summed up his tenure in Philadelphia. The Hinkie Manifesto (as it was quickly dubbed) is a fascinating look into the mind of a man who dared to be different and do more, no matter the cost.
His stream-of-consciousness letter to fans, his employers and the larger basketballing community sheds a bright light on the method to his madness. Sandwiched between his observations on the longevity of the now-extinct flightless moa bird of New Zealand and his longing for the efficiency of the Blackberry keyboard, Hinkie unabashedly provided insight into the methodology behind Trusting the Process.
It’s a lot to digest.
But years after initially reading, there’s one thing that stood out. Hinkie had a true reverence for disruption.
“As I described to you in our first-ever board meeting, we were fundamentally aiming for something different—disruption. We should concentrate our efforts in a few key areas in ways others had proven unwilling. We should attempt to gain a competitive advantage that had a chance to be lasting, hopefully, one unforeseen enough by our competition to leapfrog them from a seemingly disadvantaged position. A goal that lofty is anything but certain. And it sure doesn’t come from those that are content to color within the lines.”
Let’s break that down a bit. Follow a path others won’t. Do whatever it takes to get a competitive advantage. Shoot for something others view as unattainable. Refuse to abide by the norms.
Hinkie’s method to the madness in Philly isn’t too far off from what’s happening in Boulder with Coach Deion Sanders.
Late this season, Philly’s Process died an especially cruel, public death. Coach Prime’s is just getting started.
The Process Defined
In simplest terms, The Process can be defined like this: Lose big in the short term. Stockpile as many assets as possible. Try to have your best players peak at the right time.
Hinkie’s master plan included things like selling off All-Star-caliber talent for draft picks, taking big swings for high-upside guys and a refusal to waver in the face of scrutiny.
And losing. Lots and lots of losing. 195 game worth of losing, in fact. And Philly didn’t just lose. They were innovators in the art of losing.
They lost with a laughable roster. Lost because they drafted an injured player with the No. 3 overall pick. And lost some more, because that’s the best way to stack the odds.
Notable moves of The Process include trading All-Star Jrue Holiday for draft picks, selecting future MVP Joel Embiid and drafting busts Jahlil Okafor, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz.
In the end, the 76ers were left with MVP Joel Embiid and 5 consecutive first or second-round playoff exits. And a losing stench so foul that not even an MVP campaign or roulette of decorated starts and coaches could shake off.
The Coach Prime Effect
CU-alum and FOX Sports commentator Joel Klatt perfectly summed up the impact Deion Sanders has on people.
Klatt said Sanders is a great fit for Boulder and described him as a refrigerator. “He’s not the glass of milk in the room, the glass of milk is gonna turn into whatever temperature the room it’s in. Deion is going to turn everything around him into his temperature. He is the sun, he is the gravity, he’s the magnet…that’s what is so great about him.”
The moment Sanders set foot on campus, the spotlight followed him.
It wasn’t just his viral opening team speech, where cameras caught him telling then-current CU players to “pack their bags” if they weren’t ready to adapt to Coach Prime. Nor was it just about his early proclamation of his son, Shadeur Sanders, being the new starting QB for the program. Hell, it isn’t even about the blatant eye-lash batting by the Buffaloes toward their ex-wife, the Big 12 Conference.
Coach Prime just has this innate effect to be polarizing in everything he says and does. He teeters on the love-hate seesaw and might have you considering the opposite side more often than not.
Since arriving in Boulder, Sanders has jackhammered his way through conventionalism by using the transfer portal as a turnstile for roster development. In less than six months, the Buffalo program saw nearly 60 players leave, with an equally jaw-dropping 48 coming the other way to join the new-look team. We’ve never seen a roster flip quite like this one.
The Reverance for Disruption
In the end, it was Sam Hinkie’s reverence for disruption that led him so deep down the mine shaft that he couldn’t be saved. He leaned so far into losing and asset accumulation that he couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.
It’s too early to call the fate of Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes.
Year 1 is almooooost, a write-off. The expectations from the general public are low, and they should be. Colorado faces a daunting schedule and is tasked with attempting to take a lot of individuals and turning them into a team. Outside the occasional hot-take artist, most expect the Buffaloes to finish in the 3-4 win range.
But what happens next will be truly fascinating.
Does Sanders lean into his reverence for disruption even further with yet another portal raid? Does he pivot and start laying the groundwork more at the high school level? If this method starts working, does he change the course? If it doesn’t, does he lean in even harder?
We’ve never seen anything quite like what Deion Sanders is trying to do in Boulder. Just like we never quite saw anything like Sam Hinkie’s Process in Philly.
On May 14, 2023, The 76ers were blown out by their bitter rivals the Boston Celtics. Jayson Tatum (who was once passed up by Hinkie in favor of Markelle Fultz) hammered home 51 points and killed what was left of Doc Rivers, Joel Embiid and James Harden.
That night, the flickering lights from The Process went out for the final time.
Fortunately for Coach Prime, the lights have never been brighter.