NBA Draft Rumors (Photo : REUTERS & Twitter)
Philadelphia 76ers GM Sam Hinkie had some admissions and revelations which depict just how low the franchise has sunk.
In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Hinkie owned up to some mistakes.
"I think our record speaks kindly to all that," he said. "But I think there are other things we could have handled differently."
However, there were some issues that he did not directly discuss, but the Inquirer reports claimed that "according to multiple sources, Hinkie wasn't permitted to interview Kristaps Porzingis during his predraft workout in Las Vegas in June."
This means that Porzingis' handlers did not want him to end up with Philadelphia. Porsingis ended up at 4th to the New York Knicks as Philadelphia passed on him and chose Duke's Jahlil Okafor with the third overall pick.
But even that was controversial. "Sources say that Okafor's camp wasn't in favor of him playing for the Sixers during the draft process. And there's conflicting stories about D'Angelo Russell. Some say that he welcomed the idea of playing in Philadelphia, at least initially in the draft process. Others say he wasn't in favor."
While this may seem alarming as the agents seem to be manipulating or at least exerting influence on the draft process, they cannot be faulted for looking over their clients' overall welfare. This is why building relationships with agents is part of a GM's job as Hinkie eventually admits that he needs help on, specifically from Jerry Colangelo.
"Yeah, he's helped there (relationship with agents), too," Hinkie said of Colangelo. "I think he's had lot of good advice and I had lots of questions there about ways in which we could do things better. And he's helped on that front already."
However, Real GM points out that the only issue could be fit. The Sixers already had Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid (though he has yet to play because of injury). Another big man like Okafor or even Porzingis aren't good fits and they may not have enough playing time.
