The Philadelphia 76ers may have just veered from their radical rebuilding strategy in a huge way

Mitchell Leff/Getty

The Philadelphia 76ers appear to have put an end to their "Process" - that is, their blatant tanking to achieve high draft picks and rebuild the roster.

On Monday, 76ers owner Josh Harris announced that the team has hired Jerry Colangelo as a "special advisor" to their basketball operations.

This, of course, immediately raised questions about the status of general manager Sam Hinkie, who began the Sixers' radical rebuild.

Hinkie seems OK with it:

While it's unclear if this is a demotion, clearly it's a turn in a different direction. Hinkie, for over two years, has been in charge of a plan where the 76ers intentionally don't win games and make any moves necessary to acquire more draft picks. Colangelo has served as the director of U.S.A. Basketball, a program with the sole purpose of winning.

It never seemed as though Hinkie's plan or job was in jeopardy, but clearly ownership wants the team to begin making moves. The Sixers have just one win this season, and despite several high draft picks, they don't seem to be any further along in their plan than when they started.

There are promising building blocks in Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, and Robert Covington (and perhaps Nik Stauskas), but nobody is certain of the future of Joel Embiid, and Okafor and Noel's long-term fit is an unknown.

It appears the 76ers want to starting bringing this rebuild along, getting closer to winning actual games, and they've brought Colangelo in to do so. 

The 76ers could be in line for several draft picks this season, and if they draft wisely and sign some players in the offseason, it will be interesting to see just how quickly the team can make a move into competitiveness.