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Sam Hinkie studied under Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, who managed to turn a stockpile of assets into multiple superstars. With several of the Rockets periphery pieces on the block, could the 76ers get involved in a possible swap?
ESPN's Marc Stein has the details:
Cap space is not Houston's friend at the moment, but word is they will try to get in the mix for both Love and Aldridge as Rockets often do
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 25, 2015
Indicative of Houston's plans to get off money, word is both Terrence Jones and Rockets' No. 18 pick in first round are both very available
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 25, 2015
Very available, eh? Stein sort of put a damper on the idea of robbing either Jones or the 18th pick in a separate tweet, but it's a situation Sixers fans should keep an eye on.
Hinkie's ties to Houston are well-documented; he has a great working relationship with his former boss, having completed several trades with the Rockets since taking the controls in Philadelphia. Although some reports over the last two years have indicated that rival GMs are cautious about working with Hinkie, you can bet that the phone lines between he and Morey are always open.
More importantly, this reeks of the opportunities Hinkie lives for. We know he's shopping to get back into the first round, and the 18th pick is of higher value than most of what he's been linked to thus far. Jones is a bit trickier, as he'll be up for restricted free agency after this season, but he'd be a quality contributor on a cheap deal for at least one season, and he's only 24. This would be a great opportunity to use part of their mammoth cap space before the new TV deal frees a lot of teams from salary burdens.
There's nothing definitive here yet, but if it walks like a Hinkie deal and quacks like a Hinkie deal, it's worth speculating about a Hinkie deal.