March 27, 2017
As we've written about time and again on this site, the trade that the Sixers made with the Sacramento Kings in July 2015 will go down as one of the worst in NBA in history. It was great for Sixers fans, but as soon as that deal went through, it's hard to think of a more one-sided deal. In the trade, the Sixers acquired Nik Stauskas, pick-swap rights for two seasons (which are very much in play right now!), and an unprotected first-round pick in 2019 for taking on contracts that are already off the books and a couple of late second-round Eurostashes.
The Kings? Well, they got the cap space to sign Rajon Rondo, Marco Belinelli, and Kosta Koufos. Yikes.
(The Boston-Brooklyn trade very well may turn out more lopsided, but at least there was at least some logic in Brooklyn going all-in and trading for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.)
Well, as Rust Cohle said on "True Detective," time is a flat circle. And according to both ESPN.com and The Vertical, the Kings are talking about bringing Hinkie into the fold:
Story posting now: League sources tell @ZachLowe_NBA and me that the Kings have received permission to speak to former Sixers GM Sam Hinkie.
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) March 27, 2017
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.
Neither Hinkie's level of interest in a position with Sacramento, nor the sort of role Ranadive envisions for Hinkie in a front office currently run by popular former Kings player Vlade Divac, was immediately known.
Sources say other undisclosed teams have also sought permission to speak to Hinkie, which is presently required because the 39-year-old executive is forced to sit out the 2016-17 season based on the terms of the non-compete clause that took effect when he left Philadelphia in April 2016.
As ESPN reports, Sam Hinkie is a target. Ranadive has casually talked with Hinkie, sources say, but Hinkie unsure his interest in job there.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) March 28, 2017
From Sac's minority owners and NBA, there's been pressure on Ranadive to make Kings front office more professional -- starting at top.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) March 28, 2017
I can't even start with the NBA's hypocrisy if that bit about "professionalizing" the Kings is true.
Hinkie is back in Northern California already, but the Kings also aren't a very desirable job (again, in part thanks to him). At best, they're probably due for at least a few years of serious rebuilding in the aftermath of the DeMarcus Cousins trade. And Vivek Ranadive also hasn't really shown any semblance of sound decision making from a basketball perspective.
Hinkie would be a great hire in my opinion, and the irony of him trying to rebuild a team that he fleeced would be amazing. Still, judging by ESPN and The Vertical's reporting, it seems like we're still a long way from that actually happening.
If Sam Hinkie wants back in, my hunch is that he will have better opportunities/situations, limited as those ops are.
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) March 28, 2017
UPDATE: The Kings officially said they won't hire Hinkie. They also previously said they weren't planning to trade for Cousins.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
