Sixers Are Better? We’re Better! You Bet!

Jul 14, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard

(11) looks to pass the ball during an NBA Summer League game against the Knicks at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Value The Second Round Picks

Hinkie’s former team, the Houston Rockets has six guys on its 14-man roster who were second-round picks or undrafted free agents.  The Rockets have built a team around the James Harden–Dwight Howard nucleus.  That is in keeping with the approach of Hinkie’s mentor, GM Daryl Morey.

When an NBA team obtains elite talent on its roster, it must round out the other players with competent, but affordable, options.   Hinkie knows this, and is using the current plight of the Philadelphia 76ers as a grand incubator to supply the insatiable hunger of NBA teams – not with elite talent – but with the competent and affordable options.

What does the team get in return?  Draft picks.  The Sixers traded popular second round selection forward K.J. McDaniels to the Houston Rockets for guard Isaiah Canaan and a second round draft pick.  From those draft picks come raw talented players who grow into affordable NBA players.   To build a championship team, you must have as many competent and inexpensive players as stars.   It’s the economics 101 of the NBA.

Hinkie knows this, and as he makes moves with the skill of a chess master, he is keeping his eye on the ultimate goal – building a complete roster, not just a starting five.

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