Sources: Sam Hinkie steps down as GM, head of basketball operations

— -- Sam Hinkie has stepped down from his post as general manager and president of basketball operations from the Philadelphia 76ers, ESPN.com has learned.

Sources told ESPN.com that changes in the organization that emerged this week have prompted Hinkie to resign.

Hinkie's future with the 76ers has been widely viewed as tenuous since the December appointment of longtime NBA executive and owner Jerry Colangelo as the Sixers' chairman of basketball operations.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Sixers are in advanced negotiations to add Bryan Colangelo -- two-time former NBA Executive of the Year and son of Jerry -- to the front office, which is among the factors that prompted Hinkie to step aside.

In a letter to members of the Sixers' ownership group, obtained by ESPN.com, Hinkie wrote: "There has been much criticism of our approach. There will be more. A competitive league like the NBA necessitates a zig while our competitors comfortably zag. We often chose not to defend ourselves against much of the criticism, largely in an effort to stay true to the ideal of having the longest view in the room.

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".. Given all the changes to our organization, I no longer have the confidence that I can make good decisions on behalf of investors in the Sixers -- you. So I should step down. And I have."

Hired in the spring of 2013, Hinkie preached what has been called "The Process" in attempting to rebuild a once-proud Sixers franchise through draft picks and shrewd maneuvers at the expense of winning in the short-term.

However, with a league-worst 47-195 mark since the 2013-14 season, Hinkie's plan has not yet borne fruit.