Joel Embiid praises Sam Hinkie, calls him the GOAT

Dec 15, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Injured Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (left) talks with general manager and president Sam Hinkie (right) before a game against the Boston Celtics at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 15, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Injured Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (left) talks with general manager and president Sam Hinkie (right) before a game against the Boston Celtics at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Joel Embiid was drafted by Sam Hinkie, the former Philadelphia 76ers GM who resigned in April. On Saturday, he praised his former boss.

The 2015-16 Philadelphia 76ers were bad. Actually, they were awful, winning only ten of their 82 games. Sam Hinkie, the architect behind that roster, whose motto was “Trust the Process,” resigned in April after three years as the organization’s general manager and president.

Joe Embiid, who Hinkie drafted with the third overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft, had some kind words for his former GM on Saturday. Embiid dedicated an Instagram post to Hinkie, and then tweeted out the screenshot.

See his kind words below:

Apparently, Embiid still trusts the process, and he feels that Hinkie had to take the fall for the terrible basketball being played in Philadelphia the past few years. For Embiid, he has yet to even take the court since being drafted by the 76ers, though his pregame routines have become the stuff of legend. He appears to have a nice inside-out game, which the 76ers desperately need.

The 76ers hired Bryan Colangelo to take over for Hinkie after his resignation, and his father, Jerry, feels that Hinkie just was not a basketball guy.

Whatever the issue was, Hinkie is no longer there, but his legacy lives on in Embiid. The seven-footer had a great one-and-done season at Kentucky in 2013, but it has yet to be seen what he can do in an NBA game. The 76ers will surely be better than their ten-win season last year, but they will need Embiid in some capacity if they are going to make any real strides.

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