Sam Hinkie addressed the trade deadline and Joel Embiid‘s progress in a press conference on Friday afternoon.
Sam Hinkie held a press conference on Friday afternoon to address the Philadelphia 76ers’ moves at the trade deadline which occurred the day before at 3pm. Hinkie opened his press conference by saying that the death of Monty Williams’ wife impacted several members of the Sixers’ organization, and that head coach Brett Brown and Vice President of basketball operations attended the funeral.
It was a press conference that referenced a “parade down Broad Street” and Embiid’s recovery as well as the trade deadline.
Hinkie implied that the Sixers did take other calls, but they were not “particularly close” on finalizing any deals with other teams.
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Moving onto the trade that did happen, Hinkie addressed the several moving parts of the one move that the team made at the deadline. Although many have predicted that Joel Anthony, the player the Sixers got in addition to a draft pick, would be released almost immediately, Hinkie said that Anthony’s role on the team is yet to be determined, which is a surprise to most because many thought he would be released right away. It could be that Hinkie is being less transparent with the situation of Anthony because he is technically a member of the team right now.
Regarding the waiver of JaKarr Sampson, Hinkie said that Sampson is expected to clear waivers — if no other team claims him — at 5pm on Sunday. He said that the Sixers will evaluate if there is a future with Sampson on the team once he does clear waivers. The reason for him not clearing waivers until 5pm is because that is the time waivers begin each day, and Sampson was not put on the waiver wire until Thursday at around 6pm.
Hinkie said that he looks up to Colangelo, and said that Colangelo has been very accessible, and is able to call with questions at any times. It seems like the two are working more as a team than against each other. The stories of the two butting heads and Hinkie getting power taken away really seem to be fabricated, at least when we take into account how they have spoken at press conferences.
Addressing Embiid, Hinkie said he is making progress in Aspetar, a clinic in Qatar, but is not expected, at least at this time, to play in the upcoming Summer League.
There was a lot of encouraging things said during this press conference about what occurred at this year’s trade deadline. For one, Hinkie said that they felt content with the players they had, and didn’t shake the roster up very much, which is a change from previous deadlines where the team seemed obviously not confident in their players, and moved them around drastically. Additionally, it’s clear that owners and general managers around the NBA believe in some of the rising stars on the team, as the Sixers received several calls on Okafor and Noel throughout the week leading up to the deadline. There’s obviously a lot of confidence in the future of Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor, not just in the Sixers’ organization, but around the league, which is encouraging.
Additionally, Hinkie said that he and the Sixers are pleased with the way Noel and Okafor are developing together, which has not been the case from a lot of fans. Hinkie praised the duo’s ability to co-exist, especially on the defensive end.
The Sixers play on Friday night on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans.