FanPost

Dr. Tankenstein: Or the Modern GM

After the splendid display the Sixers put on against the Heat on Wednesday, we've heard the reactions from nearly everyone. Fans. Beat Writers. Bloggers. Players. Coaches. But there is one notable take missing that, if you have an inquisitive mind like me, would be interesting to hear. I am of course talking about Sam Hinkie's reaction to the game.

Hinkie is notable for the relative secrecy he maintains about his feelings regarding players on the team in order to obtain an advantage over other GMs. I happen to have a source into his mind, however, and after bugging it enough I was emailed this excerpt from Hinkie's post game journal:

It was on a cheery night in late October that I beheld the failure of my struggles. With a calmness that almost amounted to apathy, I collected young players with unproven skill, that I might tank the season and rebuild this mediocre franchise that lay at my feet. It was already 7 at night; practice shots bricked dismally off the glass, and my vision had nearly come about, when, by a sliver of misfortune, I saw the team play defense, it stole the ball, and in a convulsive motion the rookie dunked it in.

How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how defective the tank that with such infinite pains and care I had endeavored to build? The team was unimpressive, and I had selected its players as terrible. Terrible! Great God! Its depth thin, Brown could barely count the NBA players on one hand, the roster was mostly devoid of shooting, its D lacking a post presence, but these deficiencies only forced a more horrid contrast with the team's inspired play, that seemed almost of the same skill as the Miami Heat world champs against who they were set, its relentless attitude and red hot shooting.

The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature. I had worked for nearly 6 months, for the sole purpose of tearing down this mediocre franchise. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired tanking with a fervor that far exceeded convention, but now that the season started, the pursuit of the highest odds in the lottery vanished, and breathless horror and Wigginsless dread filled my heart.

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