Sep 29, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie talks with reporters during media day at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Has Sixers Sam Hinkie Hustled The NBA?
When I think of the word “hustle”, I picture Steve McQueen with a lit cigarette hanging off his lips, or Paul Newman and Robert Redford scheming to con mob boss Robert Shaw. You know that the set up to hustle is typically to feign simplicity and allow someone to believe that they have you at a disadvantage. Then, raise the stakes. Place the wager so high that it breaks either side. The “mark”, now completely overconfident and greedy, jumps at the chance at “easy money”. But the hustle kicks in, and the mark rapidly discovers that overconfidence and greed have left them powerless to prevent losing it all.
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Fast forward to the 2015 NBA. Philadelphia 76ers president and general manager Sam Hinkie has just been graded for one more transaction. The routine is similar: NBA team dumps a low production extremely expensive player onto the Sixers roster, and selects a player with some production and upside who is a better bargain. The Sixers get a draft pick, or an option to swap picks for their troubles. The transaction grade is typically
"“(Insert NBA Team Name here) pillages Sixers roster for player (insert name here), and dump their huge salary in player (insert overpriced player name here) at the same time. This is a double win, and I’m astounded Sam Hinkie still has a job making these trades. Of course, nobody know what Hinkie is up to anyways. NBA Team transaction grade: A+ 76ers Transaction grade: C- or I (incomplete)"
The first time I’d read an analysis like this, it made me question Hinkie. But now for the rest of the story….
Next: Tankadelphia
Apr 4, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown talks with players on the bench during the first half against the Charlotte Hornets at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Tankadelphia
Tankadelphia. That’s the term given to the Sixers when Sam Hinkie took over. I remember laughing out loud when the twitter account “Winless4Wiggins” showed up. Even then, the plan was difficult to decypher. Hinkie inherited a team with limited upside, huge salaries, and trending downward. So he embraced the trend. We looked at the history of his moves in recent months. What started out as a search for the Achilles heel in our strategy evolved into intrigue and eventually admiration.
In a win-now environment like the NBA, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that is the only way to win. So 30 NBA teams chase the best players, pay the most money, and strive for the playoffs this year at the expense of tomorrow.
But from the moment Hinkie arrived in Philadelphia, he’s flipped that entire thinking upside down. He created a strategic plan – a mission that will take many years to culminate success. In fact, we discussed this plan in a recent article by Josh Wilson. After shedding huge salaried players and filling the roster with young players, phase one was complete. The NBA analysts saw the 76ers as a team spiraling downwards and concluded that the team was in a run for the number one NBA draft selection. In that 2013 NBA draft, the Sixers failed to get a top prospect naturally, so Hinkie traded his marquis asset, Jrue Holiday, for the rights to just-drafted Nerlens Noel and a 2014 protected first round draft pick. They then drafted to fill the hole just vacated by Holiday by selecting Michael Carter-Williams. But Noel was recovering from an ACL surgery, and would not be ready for the team that year. MCW would be, and that fact gave everyone a good feeling about that draft.
Michael Carter-Williams would evolve into the Kia NBA Rookie of the Year for 2013-14 despite a miserable season for the Sixers. Another asset for the trading floor.
Next: Embiid and Noel and trades, Oh my!
Mar 7, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center
Nerlens Noel(left) and center
Joel Embiid(right) share a laugh during warm ups before a game against the Atlanta Hawks at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Embiid and Noel and Trades, oh my!
The 2014 NBA Draft found the Sixers once more falling short of the NBA top pick in draft despite a horrible season. In what will be a theme, the Sixers found that they were picking third in essentially a three player draft, and the third man was a big center by the name of Joel Embiid. Similar to Noel the previous year, Embiid was drafted early despite an injury – one to his foot. And similar to Noel, the hope was that after a year of being benched, he would be ready to play NBA basketball. Was Embiid worth it? If he regains health, his timing aligns very well with the timing of the Sixers rebuilding plan.
The Sixers also picked up the rights to Croatian Dario Saric. While extremely talented, he is committed to the European league for two year. So while other teams walked on by, Hinkie stopped and shopped. So two draft picks and nothing to show for it in 2014. But the team did pick up KJ McDaniels early in that second round. Much like MCW the year before, McDaniels surprised everyone by playing well. But both MCW and McDaniels had trouble in the turnovers department, and left some offense on the table with their shooting %. Each had skills worthy of the NBA, but not worthy of the Sixers. On a team with so little success, the rebuild is very strict on tolerable parameters. This Sixers team was an NBA worst in turnovers. So, despite their NBA success, both found themselves traded.
Next: And the next pick of the NBA draft
And The Next Pick Of The NBA Draft Is…
2015 has arrived.
And in the meantime, the Sixers found themselves in familiar surroundings: picking third in a three player NBA draft. Once more, the man left on the board was a big man named Jahlil Okafor. But the good news is that for the first time, this center/power forward is healthy and is ready to play.
Once more, the Sixers failed to land the top pick in an NBA draft, despite being one of the worst teams in the league. But 2015 was particularly unkind, as the Sixers had a chance to land three additional first round picks. In the Utopian scenario, the picks optimized would have been:
1. PHI
6. PHI (via LAL)
11. PHI (via MIA)
19. PHI (via OKC)
None of the 2015 conditions were met, so all picks roll over into… 2016. By now, the NBA and eventually staunchly optimistic Philly beat writers have begun to conclude that teams who deal with the Sixers are getting a great deal. Read reports about the Hernangomez trade by the New York Knicks with the Sixers. Read the reports about the Thompson trade with the Golden State Warriors. Notice the theme? Trade with Hinkie and you are scoring plenty of expert approval.
Oh my…. nobody thinks the Sixers have a chance. Now the stakes get raised….
Next: Hinkie doesn't care what experts think...
Jun 26, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA;
Dario Saric(Croatia) gets a hug after being selected as the number twelve overall pick to the Orlando Magic in the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Hinkie Doesn’t Care What Experts Think…
Sixers fans face the unknown in 2015. Will the team be good enough to threaten a playoff appearance? Will the team Tank? Does the team need to be the NBA worst in order to have a chance at a high NBA draft?
No. No. and surprisingly No.
We are coming into the home stretch Sixers fans. Some of you have gotten off the plane, but keep your boarding pass. The 2015/16 NBA season will test the character, the mettle, the mental fabric of this team, and this fanbase.
However there is more. 2015 is an experiment of sorts. It will be a season where the Sixers explore the gambles on players they’ve signed or acquired through trade with some questions. We will get to see if Nik Stauskas is a true first round talent, or a bust. We will get to see if the gusto of Pierre Jackson, “Pappy Jack” is what the fans hope it can be. Can an NBA professional athlete “will” himself into a star? If Pappy Jack can’t, then it cannot be done.
We won’t tank, but the quality of play may not be consistent enough to suit anyone’s liking. Those who want success now will be frustrated again by a team that loses more than it wins. Those who want to see a big splash in the 2016 NBA draft by obtaining the top pick will be frustrated by a team that begins to learn how to win.
But what happens in 2016?
Next: Genesis
Genesis Of A Dynasty
By 2016, David T Martin will have a year under his belt with the Sixers. The Sixers will open a state-of-the-art training facility in Camden New Jersey in 2016. The Sixers will have hired a basketball analyst. The team will hopefully have a fully healthy Joel Embiid coming back to the team, just in time to greet Dario Saric coming back from Europe. Two first round stars.
And the Sixers have the 2016 NBA draft. Remember those 2015 additional picks that couldda, shouldda, wouldda happened but never did (courtesy of nba.derekbodner.com)
2016
- 1st round pick – 76ers or Kings (Sixers get better of their own pick or Kings pick, assuming Kings pick falls in top-10).
- 1st round pick – Lakers (unless it falls in the top 3)
- 1st round pick – Heat (unless it falls in the top 10. Can swap with GSW if GSW pick is better)
- 1st round pick – Thunder (unless it falls in top 15. Can swap with GSW if GSW pick is better)
- 2nd round pick – Nuggets (EDITORS NOTE: This pick was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans for point guard Ish Smith)
The 76ers also have their own 2nd round pick to add to the mix (EDITORS NOTE: This pick was involved in three way trade with Miami Heat, who have subsequently traded it to the Boston Celtics).
To date, the 76ers have been a vacuum in the NBA free agent process. They pick up the contracts of players that other NBA teams shred and scattered to the floor. In 2016, that will stop. In fact, after signing their own players to long term deals, they will likely be looking to add a top name talent.
And who wouldn’t want to come? New Facility. Top of the line training and medical resources. A team bursting with NBA talent. And a city eager to embrace success. By 2016, the NBA will realize what just happened. The Sixers will be good. Not just in 2016, but for many years to come. Perhaps it will be a dynasty in the making.
But that’s the way all great hustles go. Watch the movies and see how confident everyone is that they have the hustler by the throat, and are just about to deliver the coup de grace. Now look at NBA teams, circling the Sixers, eager to make a deal or a trade for those second round draft picks or the options to swap first round picks that have virtually no value to anyone except the Sixers.
In one moment, the details of Hinkie’s plan will spring into action simultaneously. First round picks, returning from Europe and from rehab to walk into a new facility, train with cutting edge research both in health and science as well as the best shots to take.
Meanwhile, the NBA will wonder what hit them. It’s simple, NBA. You just got hustled by Sam Hinkie.