Does Sam Hinkie Need To Learn When To Hold Em?

Apr 14, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Spencer Hawes (10) against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Spencer Hawes

Spencer Hawes was a big man in the middle who was a good scorer for the 76ers.  He averaged 13 PPG and 8.5 RPG when the team traded him.  So why do a trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers, especially since he was a productive player and Cleveland gave up two second round draft picks?

The Sixers were motivated to move Hawes .   He had a huge $6.6 million salary, was in the last year of his contract, and was unlikely to return to the team.  The Caveliers were in the thick of a playoff hunt.  It was their hope that a big man who could score would get them into the mix in the 2013-14 season.  They fell short by five games.  Hawes then signed onto the Los Angeles Clippers, where his scoring dropped to 5.8 PPG and his rebounds plummeted from 8.5 to 3.5.  In 2015, Hawes will play for the Charlotte Hornets.

Hawes has not enjoyed the same success elsewhere that he had for the 76ers.  On his third team, he’s trying to find a team where he will enjoy the same success he enjoyed in Philly.

For the Sixers, the player was moving on, and the team was lucky to get anything for a player who likely would have moved on with no compensation.   What the team ended up with is an affordable center in Henry Sims, who is productive enough to warrant some minutes, and two second round picks that resulted in Jerami Grant and Vasilije Masic.  While Masic has remained in the european theatre playing for the German team FC Bayern Munich, Grant made the roster and contributed 6.3 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 2014.  Meanwhile, Sims had chimed in with 8.0 PPG  and 4.9 RPG of his own.

Sixers grade:  A-