Revisiting Philadelphia 76ers Dario Saric Trade

Last Laugh

He who laughs last, laughs best. But Sam Hinkie is no longer with the Philadelphia 76ers. His unorthodox methods of looking further ahead than others in the room are unwelcome in today’s NBA.

But his legacy lives on.  He converted a team short of prospects into a fertile future.  He ruffled feathers along the way, but mainly from winning at virtually every NBA trade he made.  Let’s reexamine the talent tree of the exchanges involving Dario Saric to the Philadelphia 76ers.

What We Gave:

We traded Elfrid Payton to the Orlando magic. 
Payton is a two year veteran point guard of the Magic.  He averages 29.9 minutes per game, 66 starts out of 78 games played per year.  He averages 9.7 points, 6.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and .3 blocks per game.  His shooting accuracy is 43 percent from the floor, 30.6 percent from the perimeter, and 56.9 percent from the free throw line.

Compensation for giving away Elfrid Payton took time to arrive.  At the end of the night in 2014, the Orlando Magic walked away with a rookie point guard. He was a tangible prospect who was immediately available and countable.  As such, all was well with the myopic standards of the NBA.

But Philadelphia’s return would be spread over the next three years and would be theoretical.  That intangible quality would be interpreted as “Tankadelphia”.  But two of the pieces have arrived now, so it’s only fair to recast the comparison of value.