2. 2015 — Hinkie’s last stand
All offseasons were big when Sam Hinkie was general manager of the 76ers.
The problem with picking only one is that, to him, he acted like it was always the off-season, since he did not worry about how the current team was doing. Additionally, every summer was filled with a ton of moves that kept the transaction desk in the NBA office busy.
We selected 2015 because, arguably, he made both his best, and worst, move of his time in Philly. Also, it was the last offseason he was completely in charge, before Big Collar’s dad moved him out.
Although chronologically it happened after the worst move, let’s get to the positive news first: The total robbing of an inept Sacramento Kings front office.
On July 9, the Sixers hornswaggled (oops, traded) two foreign players of no consequence for the No. 8 pick in the previous draft in Nik Stauskas plus two decent players in Carl Landry and Jason Thompson. The Kings also gave him a 2019 first-round pick and a pick swap between the clubs if the Kings had better choice in the 2017 draft.
Thompson was soon traded, Landry, who actually had a pretty good year for the 76ers, left after a season and Stauskas was shipped to the Nets in 2018 when it became clear he would not reach his potential in Philly.
But, as always with Hinkie, the prizes were the draft picks. His successor, Bryan Colangelo, used the 2019 (if it is not No. 1) with Boston as part of the Markelle Fultz trade. The pick swap moved the 76ers two spots up to No. 3, where Boston felt comfortable they could get the player they wanted, Jayson Tatum, and let the Sixers have No. 1.
Whether the Fultz trade ends up being a good or bad deal, the point is Hinkie set the club up to get the No. 1 pick and gave away nothing.
Another move that Hinkie made in the summer of 2015 is something even the most die-hard Hinkie-ites will now admit was a mistake: drafting Jahlil Okafor with the No. 3 overall pick.
It was not like the draftniks did not have Okafor rated high, some had him going No. 1 over Karl-Anthony Towns. However, Hinkie had in the past two drafts taken centers Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid. They already had a logjam at that position.
It was assumed that after Minnesota took Towns, the Lakers would then select Okafor as they really had no center. Instead, the pre-Magic Johnson management (showing why Jeanie Buss had to fire her own brother) decided to cross everyone up and took Ohio State guard D’Angelo Russell (who lasted two years before being dumped on the Nets).
That left Hinkie to choose between Okafor and tall but slender power forward Kristaps Porzingis. It was not like Hinkie was not familiar with the 7-foot-2 Latvian. He had traveled to Spain several times to watch him play with his club team.
Porzingis was considered a promising player but a project, someone who would take at least a couple of years to develop. Okafor, fresh off helping Duke win the NCAA championship, had the offensive skills of a veteran and a big name the fans could get behind, at a time when the fans had little to get excited about.
Hinkie was always known for looking at the big picture, so when he selected Okafor over Porzingis, it was a little surprising.
However, he said after the draft, the week before he had been informed Embiid’s foot had not healed and that he would miss a second season. So, at least for one year, the logjam was not quite at big.
Hinkie never addressed it, but rumor had it he was told by higher-ups to draft a rookie who would make an impact immediately; the fans were tired of waiting years to see the high draft picks actually take the court
Of course, Okafor did have good low-post moves, but no defense or passing ability and he was an awful fit for coach Brett Brown’s pace-and-space offense. He also could not play at all with Noel. Okafor was finally dumped to the Nets in early 2018 and is barely hanging on in the NBA.
Porzingis was an instant star with the Knicks until he suffered an injury. His style of play at power forward would be a perfect complement to Embiid. A twin towers of Embiid-Porzingus would have terrorized NBA clubs for a decade.
Hinkie always said you have to plan on not hitting on all your draft picks. His actions in 2015, show the good and bad of the draft.