The Sixer Sense
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Kings Granted Permission to Talk to Sam Hinkie

By Josh Wilson

Feb 25, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) after scoring against the New York Knicks during second half at Madison Square Garden. The New York Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 110-109.Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 25, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) after scoring against the New York Knicks during second half at Madison Square Garden. The New York Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 110-109.Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports /
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Late on Monday, ESPN’s Marc Stein reported that the Sacramento Kings were granted permission to talk with Philadelphia 76ers’ former GM Sam Hinkie.

Marc Stein of ESPN reported on Monday something that could really shake up the storyline of Sam Hinkie’s career as an executive in the NBA. According to his report, the Sacramento Kings have not only expressed interest in the idea of Hinkie joining the Kings and working for them, but they’ve been granted permission to discuss the idea with Hinkie.

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive talked with Josh Harris directly about speaking with Hinkie, and was granted the permission.

One interesting tidbit of information, however, is that the Kings have virtually no idea at the moment what Hinkie’s job would actually be. Vlade Divac currently operates as the team’s general manager.

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Additionally, it is unknown whether or not Hinkie actually wants to be involved. Hinkie, although he seemed to like working as a general manager, may still be turned off by the idea of working in the NBA after the nasty end to his tenure in Philadelphia, being pushed out by Jerry Colangelo and the NBA.

From Stein’s article:

"Neither Hinkie’s level of interest in a position with Sacramento, nor the sort of role Ranadive envisions for Hinkie in a front office currently run by popular former Kings player Vlade Divac, was immediately known."

What would be really interesting would be if the Kings brought Hinkie in to work as a co-general manager with Vlade, and eventually pushed Vlade out for Hinkie. There have been no reports that that is in the plans for the Kings, but it would be eerily similar to Hinkie’s path in Philly.

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What makes this very interesting is that the Kings and Sixers dealt quite a bit during his time as a general manager fort the Sixers. The Sixers have a right to swap picks with the Kings this year, and also own the Kings’ first round pick in 2019. Clearly, through their transactions throughout the years, Hinkie gained the respect of the Kings with how he did his job.

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Part of Hinkie’s departure with the Sixers included a wrinkle in his contract that barred him from working with other teams for some time. That restriction ends after this season. It will be interesting to see if anything more pops up as his eligibility as an NBA employee nears again.

Update

The Kings released a statement on the rumors, saying “The Kings are not hiring Sam Hinkie and have no plans to bring anyone in above Vlade.”

That said, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported that the Kings intentions are exactly opposite of that, and that Vivek is interested in hiring an executive about Vlade.