Tanking to the Top

February 3, 2020
Weitzman, who covers the NBA for Bleacher Report, charts the Philadelphia 76ers’ rise from NBA atrocity to potential powerhouse in his dishy, punchy debut. The “process” began in 2011 and was the brainchild of former 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie, a data-obsessive who believed the team had to be stripped bare and built anew with fresh-from-college superstars. As the losses mounted at first, the team stockpiled draft picks via trades. The opinions of the public—some hailed Hinkie as a savior, others deemed his plan embarrassing—mattered little to Hinkie, who had the backing of owner Josh Harris, who bought the 76ers as “a business opportunity” in 2011 and eventually became personally invested. Hinkie resigned in 2016 as old-guard management took over, before his handiwork led to a promising, young team helmed by Cameroonian budding star Joel Embiid. Thanks to about 175 interviews, Weitzman expertly captures the human frailty behind Hinkie’s plan: the difficulty Embiid had getting into shape; Markelle Fultz, a high draft pick, can’t shoot a basketball or get away from his controlling mother. Weitzman wildly entertains in this backroom NBA history.

March 1, 2020

Tanking, wherein a bad professional sports team seeks to improve by first getting worse, is nothing new, but its poster children are the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers of 2013-16. Coming off a 2012-13 season of 34 victories in 82 games, the Sixers hired a relatively unknown general manager, Sam Hinkie, who proceeded to jettison the team's better players in order to save money to obtain second-tier personnel to stockpile as trade bait and to dangle in front of future top free agents, while also ensuring miserable records that would translate to high draft choices. Known as "The Process," this resulted in seasons of 19, 18, and ten wins but, buoyed by top draft choices Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, the 76ers climbed to 52 wins in 2017-18. In 2019, after 51 regular season victories, the team came close to earning a spot in the NBA playoffs. Here, veteran sports journalist Weitzman, NBA writer for the website Bleacher Report, offers an account, replete with insider information, of the ups and downs of "The Process" and its architect. VERDICT Readers interested in the business of basketball, and how it affects teams and players above all, will find this a must-read.--Jim Burns, formerly with Jacksonville P.L., FL

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