PHILADELPHIA -- Sam Hinkie quit on The Process on Wednesday. One day later, the Philadelphia 76ers threw a pizza party.
No, the two events were not related, though it was a bit peculiar to find the team's practice facility festooned with balloons as select season-ticket holders gorged on food a day after perhaps the most bizarre departure in 76ers history.
With Franklin, the blue dog mascot, waving from a window, the Sixers wound down practice with Drake's "Energy" blaring through the court.
The Sixers are moving ahead in their painful rebuild without Hinkie, the general manager who methodically turned the organization into one of the worst in professional sports.
The new era comes a day after Hinkie informed the team he was leaving via a 13-page manifesto, obtained by ESPN, that was littered with references to Abraham Lincoln and flightless birds.
"He obviously felt like this was not something he wanted to be a part of," coach Brett Brown said Thursday. "He didn't want to be a part of the collaborative effort."
Brown decided to stick out this elongated rebuild and was rewarded earlier this season with a contract extension. Hinkie was hired by owner Josh Harris in 2013 to find a creative way to turn the Sixers into winners. Hinkie's plan -- gut the roster of any solid NBA talent, shred payroll and stockpile draft picks to build for the future -- had the initial backing of ownership.
The 76ers went 19-63 in his first season and 18-64 last season.
Season 3 has been worse, even by those miserable standards. The Sixers hold the worst record in the league at 10-68.
"[Sam Hinkie] obviously felt like this was not something he wanted to be a part of. He didn't want to be a part of the collaborative effort." Brett Brown, 76ers coach
The Sixers started 1-30 and Harris had been embarrassed enough. Hinkie's power was weakened in December when the Sixers hired Jerry Colangelo to oversee basketball operations. Hinkie ran an analytics-minded front office, and when the Sixers wanted to add more basketball people, he balked.
Hinkie was pushed and became more defiant, insisting his sour relationship with agents would improve once he started throwing cash at free agents -- which the Sixers are finally poised to do this summer.
Sources told ESPN.com that Hinkie, sparked heavily by the Sixers' interest in hiring two-time NBA Executive of the Year Bryan Colangelo to join their front office, decided to leave the organization rather than surrender even more authority than he already had this season.
Sources say the Sixers, as of Wednesday night, were in advanced negotiations to hire Bryan Colangelo as the new general manager, with one source telling ESPN.com that his arrival was "imminent."
"It doesn't mean things have been blown up," Brown said. "We're committed to the path that we said we were going to be on three years ago. No matter who was going to be in charge of the draft this season, next season, we're jumping into the free-agent market."
Harris and co-owner David Blitzer attended practice and did not speak to the media. Hinkie was also at the practice facility and met with some of the players. He did not talk to the media.
Hinkie's statement blindsided management and caught Brown off guard. The coach said after practice Thursday that he learned Hinkie quit through the team's media relations department.
"There has been much criticism of our approach," Hinkie wrote in his 13-page letter. "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."
Hinkie doesn't exactly leave behind a barren cupboard -- Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor and overseas prospect Dario Saric still have potential on the court or as trade bait, the Sixers have about $60 million in salary cap space, and they could have up to four first-round picks in the 2016 draft. Even without Hinkie in place, Brown's job is safe.
"I know he's taking his hits all over the place," Brown said. "But he hired me. I was his partner."
Hinkie shaped a roster this season that failed to include a solid point guard or any veterans to help guide the young players. Okafor, the No. 3 pick of the 2015 draft, had his season marred by a series of off-court incidents, and he served a two-game suspension for his role in a Boston street fight. Management refused to address Okafor's behavior or punishment, leaving Brown as the lone spokesman.
Through the draft, the Colangelos, or free agents, Brown said the worst is behind the Sixers.
"I feel like patience as we've known it isn't going to have to be required as much anymore," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.