The majority of Hoops Rumors readers who voted in Wednesday’s poll believe that Sixers GM Sam Hinkie is pursuing a shrewd strategy, at least in theory, as he continues to strip the roster of veteran mainstays. Philadelphia reduced its cap commitments once more in this weekend’s Kevin Love trade, and only Jason Richardson and the newly acquired Luc Mbah a Moute have salaries that exceed what any Sixer on a rookie scale contract will make this season. Hinkie addressed his philosophy and the players he acquired this weekend as he spoke in a conference call that took place hours before the team’s participation in Tuesday’s Hasheem Thabeet trade, one from which the Sixers will likely net nothing more than $100K in cash. Max Rappaport of Sixers.com recaps the GM’s comments, and we’ll share a few highlights here:
On the team’s aggressive rebuilding:
“I continue to hear optimism from our fans about the type of thing that we’re building. I think they view our approach as bold, but I think they view it as something that is a departure and something that could very well end up in a place that we could all be proud of.”
On Luc Mbah a Moute:
“Luc’s relationship with Joel [Embiid] can only help. I think we’re definitely in the mode of player development, and Joel will be a big part of that. Sometimes that’s about getting in the gym and getting up more shots, and sometimes it’s, ‘This is the way life in the NBA works, this is the rhythm, this is how to take care of your body, this is how to get your rest, this is how to manage your life off the floor.’”
On Alexey Shved, whom the team is reportedly likely to keep, along with Mbah a Moute:
“He’s played at a very high level in some high-pressure games. He’s a ball-handling guard that can play pick-and-roll, off the ball sometimes, sometimes on the ball, and bring it up on occasion. That’s something of interest to us.”
On the procedure the team is following:
“Step one is our ability to coach [our young players] and see them on the floor. But definitely the way we approach it is that every day we’re looking for people that have the kind of characteristics, that have the kind of work ethic, and that have the kind of talent to really move our program forward. We focused from the very beginning on building something special for the city of Philadelphia and trying to put a program in place to do that. We’re focused on doing all the things every day, including the things that may sound mundane – the details of our practice facility, counting the number of threes our guys are getting up in the middle of May … we’re focused on those kinds of things because that’s what we can control to build what we want to build as fast as we can.”