Sam Hinkie, the author of the Philadelphia 76ers’ Process, may be coming to an NBA team near you—provided, of course, your NBA team is the Sacramento Kings.
According to ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe and Marc Stein, Sacramento has been granted permission to speak with the Sixers’ former general manager:
The Sacramento Kings have expressed exploratory interest in former Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie, according to league sources.
?Sources told ESPN.com that Kings owner Vivek Ranadive sought and received permission directly from Sixers counterpart Josh Harris to speak with Hinkie.
Sources say Hinkie has long intrigued Ranadive, whose franchise has been thrust into a rebuilding mode not unlike Philadelphia’s status under Hinkie in the wake of trading DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans.
It’s unclear what capacity the Kings would want Hinkie for. Vlade Divac is their general manager, and there’s no way owner Vivek Ranadive cans him. It’s also unclear whether Hinkie would have any interest in working with the Kings. Other teams, per Stein and Lowe, have shown interest in the cult hero, many of whom Hinkie probably won’t have already fleeced in a trade.
The Kings, remember, owe their 2019 first-round pick, unprotected, to the Sixers as payment for the Jason Thompson and Carl Landry salary dumps in 2015. Would Hinkie want to work for a team that’s had its immediate future impeded by Hinkie himself? Are the Kings willing to grant him the position, power and, most importantly, time to work his voodoo on their roster?
One way or the other, it looks like we’re going to find out.
