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5 Reasons former Philadelphia 76ers Sam Hinkie Stockpiled for Anthony Davis

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:51 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Bret Stuter/FanSided via The Sixer Sense

Former Philadelphia 76ers president and general manager was a disciple of the “mega-deal”. He converted good players into trade picks for that one trade that would define the franchise. But who? Here are five reasons why Sam Hinkie was stockpiling for New Orleans Pelicans Anthony Davis

When Sam Hinkie interviewed for the role of general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, he left nothing to chance. He brought a power point presentation which illustrated, step-by-step, how the Houston Rockets prepared to deal for Oklahoma City Thunder sixth man James Harden.

It was that attention to detail that earned him the job.  From the moment he arrived in Philadelphia, he placed the 76ers on the map.  First – for dealing the few decent players for draft picks.  Secondly- for doubling down on those picks to earn move picks in future drafts.

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His strategy was multi-layered.  He sought the first franchise player, and believed he could only find that lone player by multiplying the number of draft picks and undrafted players.

Secondly, he sought to find undervalued NBA talent in the second round of the NBA draft or from the ranks of the undrafted, and trade those players as they became “NBA Worthy” for new draft picks or undervalued talent.  He traded talented Jrue Holiday, and subsequently drafted Michael Carter-Williams.  He then traded Michael Carter-Williams, and signed on undrafted T.J. McConnell. But since the team cashed in the value of Thaddeus Young at power forward, that position has been left unadressed.

The “first round” pick eventually became Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot.  Hinkie’s successor, Bryan Colangelo, chose both TLC and Furkan Korkmaz to the team in the 2016 NBA Draft. But the team has more picks coming.

REASON I: He never sought talent at the power forward position in his tenure

Sam Hinkie knew basketball analytics.  He knew that the key to winning a championship was to create a harmonious roster around three key players. He knew center Joel Embiid was one such player.  If fact, he knew it so convincingly that he ensured his 2014 first round draft pick received the best medical care available on the planet, before the guy ever played a single game of basketball in the NBA.

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But the strategy changes after the first player arrives.  Sam Hinkie knew that. In fact, he counted on that.

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Twin Towers Trials

After center, the next critical role is power forward.  Both Brett Brown and Sam Hinkie have had experience with a “twin towers” team.  Sam Hinkie knew about the Houston Rockets Akeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson.  Meanwhile, Brown knew about the San Antonio Spurs Tim Duncan and David Robinson.

Despite valuing the power forward role, Sam Hinkie did not pursue the position during his tenure. After parting ways with Thaddeus Young, he did not pursue a power forward. He obtained Luc Mbah A Moute to help transition Joel Embiid to the NBA.  After that, he persuaded Nerlens Noel to try power forward, he accepted Carl Landry from the Sacramento Kings in a salary dump.

But he never attempted to get “his guy”. Sam Hinkie was far too strategic to commit such a huge faus pax on something he knew intimately. He was biding his time on power forward.

Jan 18, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) reacts with fans and guard T.J. McConnell (1) as time winds down on a victory against the Toronto Raptors at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 94-89. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

REASON II: He knew Joel Embiid was “the guy” and would build the team around him.

From the moment Joel Embiid became a probability,the direction of the Philadelphia 76ers changed ever so slightly.  The team’s approach went from “search” mode to “synch” mode.   Knowing Joel Embiid’s arrival would be delayed, all other enhancements to the team were timed to fall in line with that same timeline.

Dario Saric was selected, and he was known to be available in the NBA two years later.  Nerlens Noel was migrated from star center into a versatile and defensive center/power forward. The team took on versatile Robert Covington, Nik Stauskas, T.J. McConnell.  All of whom are players who need time to develop.

No Free Agents

The team avoided free agency.  Free agency addressed immediate needs and consumed cash.  The Philadelphia 76ers wanted to save cash for “the mega-deal” player, and free agency would not fit the team’s needs for tomorrow’s star.

Joel Embiid was the heir apparent. Lining up the power forward compliment for Embiid would only happen after the team had Joel Embiid settled in as the Philadelphia 76ers star center.

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.

Reason IV: Few Players are worth a King’s Ransom. Anthony Davis Is that player.

Anthony Davis is 23 years old, is playing in his fifth NBA season, and is about as good as an NBA player can be at his age. But the New Orleans Pelicans have not elevated the team’s play to reflect Davis’ talent.

Since Davis arrived to the team as the first selection in the 2012 NBA Draft, the Pelicans have not found prolonged success.

In the 2012-2013 season, the team could only manage 27-55.  The following season, the team did improve to 34-48.  Finally, in 2014-2015, the team did manage to improve to 45-37 which was good enough for post-season.  Unfortunately, the team never tasted a win as it fell 0-4 in playoffs against Golden State Warriors.  Last season, the team fell back down to earth at 30-52. Finally, in the 2016-2017 season, the New Orleans Pelicans are just 20-32.

Not Just Good… Great

In his five season NBA career, Davis averages 21.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 2.2 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.  He is a franchise player in its purest form.  As such, he will be the type of player who will command an incredible combination of draft picks and solid player talent to even get the Pelicans to pick up the phone.

But the New Orleans Pelicans will NEVER pick up the phone to discuss trading Davis.  Or will they?We know the Sacramento Kings have DeMarcus Cousins, and the Brooklyn Nets have Brook Lopez.  Neither team seeks a trade of their start… but sometimes the NBA has a way of forcing the decision.  Prolonged losing, combined with the player no longer seeing improvement in their team. Anthony Davis is not there with the New Orleans Pelicans….

Yet.

Feb 6, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) against the Phoenix Suns during the second half at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans won 111-106. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Reason V: Davis Will Eventually Want to Win, and New Orleans will need to decide whether to trade him or simply lose him to free agency.

The New Orleans Pelicans are scrambling this season to find help for Anthony Davis. The team has plenty of reason for the urgency.  Sitting 12 games below .500 at the peak of Anthony Davis’ career is not going to build strong confidence in their star that the team is climbing to a championship.

In a recent article by ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the Pelicans are taken to task for their inability to pull together a winning team around the star Davis.  A struggle Anthony Davis is all too well aware of:

Without confirming with Sam Hinkie, I certainly can speculate that he saw this struggle coming. Or rather, the probability of this struggle coming. And as such, he was stockpiling to give the New Orleans Pelicans one additional option:

Building The War Chest

Lose Anthony Davis to Free Agency, or sign and trade him to the Philadelphia 76ers for a ransom. And what could the 76ers have to offer in 2020?  Right now, the team has it’s own first round, an Oklahoma City Thunder 1st round (top 20 protected) and three 2nd round picks.  But the team also has a 2019 first round pick from the Sacramento Kings.

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Sam Hinkie was famous for “plowing picks back” into future NBA drafts.  He  had another perfect opportunity to do so in the 2016 NBA Draft with the 26th pick. I am also of the opinion that he would have dealt one or two of the Philadelphia 76ers centers for future draft picks as well.  Much of the hold up in current trade negotiations in the 76ers insistence that compensation be a 2017 draft pick.  Hinkie, building for the mega-deal, would insist upon future picks.

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The cost for Anthony Davis would be astronomical. Three first round picks, two second round picks, and an exchange of good players for players of lower quality as a starting bid.  But keep in mind if the New Orleans Pelicans are about to lose Davis to the open bidding of free agency, the team will be in a position of looking to get something for nothing.

In summary, there are other such NBA superstars who could be considered targets of the Philadelphia 76ers.  But the window of opportunity will never open until the team concludes there is no reasonable chance of retaining the player. Once that decision is made, it’s up for the highest bidder.  The Philadelphia 76ers are on track to be that highest bidder if the opportunity occurs.

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