Philadelphia 76ers: An Outside Look On The Team

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If you were former Philadelphia 76ers GM Sam Hinkie, what would you have done differently throughout the three drafts? (’13,’14,’15)

Dave: Obviously, Hinkie’s plan was predicated on nailing some of these draft picks. I think the entire narrative around the Hinkie years is completely different if Embiid is healthy last season. I didn’t love the Okafor pick and given the names that were selected after him, Porzingis, Mudiay, and Turner especially, it looks even worse in hindsight. Other than that, knowing what the plan was for the team, I don’t have much of a problem with his drafting.

Ti: Hindsight is 20/20 and all, so I won’t sit here and say I would’ve snagged Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2013 NBA Draft, because that’s simply not true. I wouldn’t change a thing from that draft, honestly. Those picks made sense then. In the 2014 NBA Draft, I might try to trade up. Embiid was a great tanking pick, but the Philadelphia 76ers already had Noel and either of the top two picks were franchise-altering players. That might not’ve been feasible though, and there’s nobody that really would’ve been worth taking instead of Embiid at third overall. In the 2015 NBA Draft I think I’d try to trade down. Okafor was a nice value snag at third overall, and some other team probably would’ve paid dearly for the right to take him there. With Embiid and Noel there’s no reason to add him–imagine if the Sixers had swapped third for like ninth and another future pick, or a player.

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Adding a player like Emmanuel Mudiay. Justice Winslow, Stanley Johnson or Devin Booker would’ve changed everything for this team, and avoided this center controversy that the franchise is currently mired in. What a fun thought exercise! The biggest takeaway is that I would’ve paid more attention to fit, even though I’m a staunchly best player available draft strategist. Center is the one position where you can’t do that in today’s NBA–you can fit two point guards or wing players next to each other, but Okafor and Embiid can’t start together.

Duncan: Honestly, it’s hard to answer this without exercising a hefty dose of hindsight. We know Michael Carter-Williams was essentially a bust. We don’t know what Embiid will be, and we’re not really sure what Jahlil Okafor will turn into yet either. Particularly in the cases of the ’13 and ’14 drafts, we may find that he made the exact right decisions.

Advith: Sam Hinkie did a phenomenal job during his tenure in Philadelphia, laying the seeds for what should be an exciting team to watch going forward. Thanks to Hinkie, the Sixers now have a core good enough to compete in the long run. Unfortunately, the lottery gods were not too kind to him, as the Philadelphia 76ers ended up notching the third pick in the 2015 Draft, which prevented them from drafting their desired prospect at the time, D’Angelo Russell. Instead, Hinkie was almost forced to draft Okafor and address the team’s excess of big men talent later. Therefore, it’s hard it’s hard to pinpoint what Hinkie could have done differently during the last three drafts, as he simply played the hand that he was dealt. As some would say, Hinkie died for the Sixers’ sins.

Adam: Not a single thing. Hindsight is always 20-20, and the only selection I didn’t really like was Michael Carter-Williams at the time, and he’s no longer on the team. Without the process Hinkie undertook there is no Embiid, there is no Simmons. He proved if you commit to a full rebuild with patience it can work, though people may not understand at the time.