REASON III: Sam Hinkie knew the 2017 NBA Draft would be loaded with back court talent
Sam Hinkie held no modesty in describing himself as holding the “longest view in the room”. In fact, he saw beyond a season, and into the next five years or so. So it is no small wonder that he would have a perspective of the high quality of talent arriving to the NBA in the 2017 NBA Draft.
As such, he not only would see it coming, he had already developed the strategy to optimize it’s arrival. The 2017 NBA Draft would address the team’s needs for starting caliber player(s) in the back court.
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Since the team had brought on both T.J. McConnell and Nik Stauskas, some thought they were the “best the 76ers could do”. Actually, the strategy is fairly impressive. If either player failed, it was a low risk gamble that did not pay off. If either or both players succeeded, it would give the Philadelphia 76ers an additional decision tree.
The Process
Could either start for a championship team? If yes, keep. If no, then assess if either player would be content in a backup role. If no, then trade the player. If yes, then keep the player for the bench. As cold as it reads, that is exactly how the process determined the need to trade point guard Michael Carter-Williams.
With young cheap high-upside talent available in 2017, the 76ers front office simply concluded that starting caliber talent could arrive via this year’s draft. Depending on the role of point forward/guard Ben Simmons, the team could land a point guard, a shooting guard, or a versatile hybrid guard in the 2017 NBA Draft.