By: Brandon Apter, managing editor 
Following the Allen Iverson era in Philadelphia, the 76ers were a team that made the playoffs towards the bottom of the conference and never really contended for a title. In hopes of turning things around and bringing the organization in a new direction, ownership hired Sam Hinkie in 2013 to lead the team through a rebuild, which is now in year three and approaching the most important offseason yet.
Sam Hinkie stepped down as general manager and President of Basketball Operations on Wednesday, but what he has left the Sixers with is numerous assets, draft picks aplenty and over $60million in cap space. Free agency is one way to try and build a team, but Hinkie's plan was to build a team around players, or one player, in the draft. The Sixers haven't gotten the opportunity to do so, having not gotten the top overall pick in the last two drafts. This season, they have the largest chance to get the first pick. In addition to that, Hinkie has armed the Sixers with picks in the coming drafts.
— Michael K-B (@therealmikekb) April 7, 2016
Some of Sam's moves will be and should be scrutinized. We've seen three point guards sent packing since Hinkie has taken over and the team has struggled to have any consistency without an answer at that position. Ish Smith is just a placeholder for whoever they find next, but his play has stabilized the Sixers since his arrival in December. In terms of the point guards Hinkie has sent packing, Jrue Holiday was traded for Nerlens Noel in 2014, they drafted Elfriid Payton, who was then traded to Orlando for the rights to Dario Saric and then Michael Carter-Williams was traded to Milwaukee prior to the trade deadline last season. All of these moves have more or less enforced the teams' tanking in hopes of getting a difference maker in the draft.
This coming offseason, without question, is the biggest one for the Sixers and the architect of "The Process" won't be around to see it through, with the Colangelo family taking over the front office. With up to four first round picks possible, Joel Embiid recovering nicely and Dario Saric joining the team next season, the new look management has been set up for success, but whether they make the right choices remains to be seen. They also have assets from Hinkie's tenure in Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, Richaun Holmes and Jerami Grant, who now all have questionable long-term futures with the Sixers.
Obviously, the biggest variable of all of this is the draft. The Sixers have the best chance to nab the top pick and should have their choice at either Ben Simmons, who's mid-range game has concerns, or Brandon Ingram, who could provide the team with a better shooter moving forward. In addition to that, they have the potential to have three other picks, but only two are likely to convey. The Lakers pick owned by the Sixers is top-3 protected, the Heat pick is top-10 protected and the Thunder pick is top-15 protected. They also have the option to swap picks with the Kings if it ends up in the first 10 picks and can swap the Heat or Thunder pick with the Warriors selection. How it will all play out is a mystery until draft night, but the Sixers have an opportunity to get some top young talent this season while also having three potential first rounders in the 2017 draft. For now, we'll all play the waiting game.
In terms of cap space, the NBA's cap is set to expand over the coming years, with it to go up to around $89 million next season and is projected to reach up to $108 million come 2017-18. The Sixers will be one of four teams are set have over $50 million in cap space, with SB Nation putting their cap number at $62.5 million, only behind the Lakers in the NBA. The Sixers have plenty of options of where to spend that, but will likely use it on players that are middle of the line.
Trades will also be explored this offseason. With a surplus of big men, someone is likely to be moved sooner or later. Boston has showed interest in Jahlil Okafor, but the Sixers didn't bite. That could change, especially if Brooklyn's pick that is owned by the Celtics ends up in the lottery, but there's no sure thing there so an outright swap is unlikely.
They could also revisit their interest in restricted free agent point guard Dennis Schroder. The Sixers have been known to covet Schroder enough to think about him as a max-contract player and had a reported deal in place that would have sent Nik Stauskas, Ish Smith and a 2016 first-rounder to the Hawks for the 22-year-old guard. That didn't come to fruition.
With all of this news in the front office, the Sixers still have games to play. They host the Knicks on Friday and the Bucks on Sunday in their final home game before heading on the road for matchups with the Raptors on April 12th and Bulls on the 13th to conclude their season. They avoided becoming the worst team in NBA history by earning their 10th win against the Pelicans, the same team the Sixers got their first win of the Hinkie era back in 2013.
