Section 215
Fansided

If you can’t beat them, hire them: A story of why Sam Hinkie and the Sacramento Kings are a match made in heaven

By Chuck Booth

Oct 8, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie (R) talks with chief executive officer Scott O'Neil (L) before a preseason game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 8, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie (R) talks with chief executive officer Scott O'Neil (L) before a preseason game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The orchestrator behind the rebuild of the Sixers could be on the move.

Even with their recent wins that may keep them from finishing with a worse record than the Philadelphia 76ers likely leading to them keeping their first round pick (this year) the Sacramento Kings are an organization in need of a strip down. Enter, the man with the longest view in the room, Sam Hinkie. Hinkie is a man who has divided Sixers fans during his time with the club but during his sabbatical from basketball activities, Hinkie has seen his stock rise through the roof.

While Hinkie has been giving business advice and working on different things in Palo Alto, “The Process” has become a force behind the success of the Sixers. While 27 wins (and counting) may not seem like much, it’s a drastic improvement from the Sixers’ 10-win season leading to Hinkies’ resignation.

Led by “processers” such as Robert Covington, T.J. McConnell, Dario Saric, Richaun Holmes, and (when healthy) the king of the process himself, Joel Embiid this season as shown that there was a method to Sam Hinkies’ madness. While all the credit can’t be given to Hinkie, he himself won’t hesitate to point out Sachin Gupta as the mastermind behind his traded, it’s clear that the upward trajectory of the Sixers organization was put in motion by Hinkie.

More from Philadelphia 76ers

With his contributions to the Sixers finally being realized league wide, it was only a matter of time until NBA teams began circling Hinkie with job offers but the first one is a bit of a surprise. Per ESPN insiders Mark Stein and Zach Lowe, the Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has received permission from the Sixers to speak to Sam Hinkie.

This is the same Sam Hinkie that fleeced the Kings in order to receive Nik Stauskas, the rights to swap for the Kings’ pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, and Sacramento’s first rounder in 2019 which given their current status, should be a pretty high pick in the draft. All this, for the low price of taking on two salary dump contracts and giving up the rights to Arturas Gudaitis and Luka Mitrovic. This trade was already questionable but the Kings entered full barren cupboard mode by trading DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for a package built around Buddy Hield.

The organization has hit rock bottom and is in the midst of an 11-year streak of finishing with a record under .500 and they need to get creative on how they’ll go about their rebuild. Because of not owning their own draft picks in the next few years, the Kings will have to get creative with how they’ll rebuild their team.

With how Hinkie built the foundation of the Sixers, drafting Holmes in the second round, plucking Robert Covington from the D-League, holding Elfrid Payton hostage for the pick that eventually became Dario Saric, and signing T.J. McConnell as an undrafted free agent. It’s pretty clear that Hinkie is fine with taking the unconventional route to add talent to a barren Kings roster.

Next: Okafor’s Knee Swelling Is Concerning For Many Reasons

While there are apparently no plans for the Kings to hire Hinkie or bring in anyone overtop of their current president of basketball operations, Vlade Divac, this is also the same organization that assured Cousins that his future would be in Sacramento and look at what happened there. While it would be weird to see the Process shift westward, no man is better equipped for the job than Hinkie.