Here we go again. Another reason for Sam Hinkie to be fired but we all know he’s going to be there until he stumbles upon a Playoff appearance, making people shouting “The process worked!” even though it took 10+ years to become the 8th seed. You can see it too don’t lie.
A relationship that’s essential when you’re a general manager of an NBA franchise is being good with NBA agents. If you’re good with them, they’ll call you more often offering you good talent. You see where this is going right? Sam Hinkie is straining his relationship with several NBA agents and Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer has gathered some intel on how silly Hinkie is. (I was being soft calling him ‘silly’)
One agent said he doesn’t want his max-level players in Philadelphia. He’s open to his midlevel players signing with the Sixers only if they overpay.
The agent also said the Sixers are viewed as a landing spot for clients without any other NBA options.
Hinkie declined to be interviewed for this story. But a team source said the reason is that the general manager has put what is best for the franchise ahead of what the agents want.
A prime example was when the team drafted Michael Carter-Williams with the 11th overall pick in the 2013 draft. The source said the next morning Hinkie had 35 voice messages from agents, stating that they had the perfect veteran backup/mentor for the rookie point guard. The source said all of those players had one thing in common: They were all over 30 years old, unemployed, and were seeking over $1 million.
Hinkie passed and acquired Tony Wroten, who was a second-year player at the time, in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies to serve as Carter-Williams’ backup.
According to the source, the move disappointed agents looking for jobs for their clients. He added that Hinkie treats people with dignity and is straightforward.
However, league sources, including agents, claim Hinkie is hard to deal with. They said he doesn’t make it a priority to return calls in a timely fashion or, on occasion, at all.
It’s just amazing, doesn’t even return calls.
And that Michael Carter-Williams story just takes the cake. 35 messages all offering veterans that can help MCW grow, yet he gets Tony Wroten. You can’t write this stuff!
The man just doesn’t understand, I joked before that Hinkie goes on NBA2K for inspiration but I really think he does it. Because he doesn’t understand the importance of team chemistry and having a good balance of youth and experience. He just doesn’t get it.
But let’s all “Trust the process” shall we?
