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Kelly and Hinkie approach rebuilding differently

Eagles' Chip Kelly wants to win now, while Sixers' Same Hinkie takes a long-term approach.

Eagles head coach Chip Kelly and 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie. (Staff and USA Today photos)
Eagles head coach Chip Kelly and 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie. (Staff and USA Today photos)Read more

CHIP KELLY was not taking a jab at Sixers president/general manager Sam Hinkie.

Considering how involved Kelly is in preparing the Eagles for Sunday's huge NFC East matchup with the New York Giants, I'd be surprised if he even realized the Sixers had their second preseason game last night.

Kelly was simply responding to a question about whether he emphasized playing higher draft picks when he said, "No, the emphasis is winning each week.

"If I'm going to groom a guy because he's going to be a good player 2 or 3 years down the road, I ain't going to be here 2 or 3 years down the road.

"The bottom line is we're winning right now and that is the most important thing for us. I know if I was a paying fan, I wouldn't want to go out there and say, "Hey they're going to develop and be somebody and 3 or 4 years down the road they're going to be a really good football team. That's not what this deal is about. You have to win every single Sunday."

Upon hearing that, I instantly whispered to another reporter, "Chip better not tell Sam Hinkie that."

Hinkie and the Sixers have taken the opposite philosophy of the one Kelly expressed.

Everything the Sixers have done since Hinkie took over on May 14, 2013 - just 4 months after the Eagles lured Kelly from the University of Oregon - has been about breaking down and building to success at some still undetermined point in the future.

The Sixers "Let's Build Together" campaign is all about asking fans to have faith that tossing away the present is going to be justly rewarded sometime in the future when Hinkie's plan all comes together before his contract expires.

It has been a remarkable contrast in approaches that Kelly and Hinkie have embarked on, especially since they were given the same mission when hired.

Because the Eagles won 10 games and the NFC East in Kelly's inaugural campaign, a lot of people forget he came as the architect for a massive rebuilding program.

In a lot of ways, the Eagles who won just 12 games in Andy Reid's final two seasons were in worse shape than the Sixers squad that Hinkie took over.

The Birds, who also had not won a playoff game since 2009, had a washed-up quarterback in Michael Vick with no apparent successor.

A series of failed high-round draft picks and high-ticket free- agent acquisitions had seemingly decimated the core of the roster.

Hinkie, on the other hand, took over a franchise with a young All-Star point guard in Jrue Holiday, and while the disastrous trade for Andrew Bynum had soured things, there was still enough talent on the roster to shoot for a possible low playoff seed run.

In 2013 both franchises looked as if they were stuck in mediocrity at best.

There were as many calls for the Eagles to blow things up as there were for the Sixers.

Before Hinkie implemented his tanking strategy for the 2013-14 season, a lot of Eagles fans had advocated that Kelly do the same thing in an effort to get a high enough pick to draft a franchise quarterback.

It's funny how things shake out sometimes.

Because Kelly decided not to throw away his inaugural season and tried to be as competitive as possible, the Eagles made a surprise playoff appearance and seemingly found that franchise quarterback in Nick Foles.

They are far from a completed work, but Kelly has fostered a winning culture that has enabled the Eagles to get off to a 4-1 start while playing less than stellar football.

The Sixers traded Holiday to the New Orleans Pelicans for injured rookie big man Nerlens Noel and a first-round pick as part of a plan to lose as many games as possible and increase their chances to win the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA lottery.

It didn't work. Despite a season that included a humiliating 26-game losing streak, the Sixers got the third pick and drafted another injured big man in Joel Embiid.

They used the pick from New Orleans on forward Dario Saric, who is under contract in Europe for three seasons.

Overall, the current roster is so young, inexperienced and void of talent that another high-lottery pick is all but guaranteed.

Obviously, the collective bargaining agreements in the NFL and NBA make rebuilding possibilities vastly different.

A strategy that works in one league may not work in the other. Because of that, it is impossible to fairly compare the path Kelly walked to the one Hinkie chose.

Many Sixers fans say they are on board with Hinkie and are content to go through the growing pains of being bottom-feeders while young players develop.

If by the 2017-18 season the Sixers are legitimate contenders for the NBA Finals, Hinkie will be legitimately hailed as a visionary genius.

But right now, the Eagles are trying to figure out how to improve to 5-1.

The Sixers are preparing for a season where they might be content to win just five games.

That's amazing considering Kelly and Hinkie were at the same place less than 2 years ago.