Sixers GM Sam Hinkie garners plenty of attention for his bold rebuilding plan, but lost amid the team’s efforts to build from the ground up is Hinkie’s unmatched willingness to trade. Philadelphia has been a part of 14 trades since Hinkie took the job in May 2013, and no other team has come close to that total.
The Sixers have traded away mainstays Evan Turner, Thaddeus Young and Spencer Hawes and netted cap flexibility, draft picks and cash in return through their various dealings. Our recap of the trades from the 2014 offseason, 2013/14 regular season and the 2013 offseason tell the tale. The next most eager executive on the trade market over that time has been Bucks GM John Hammond, who’s pulled off nine trades. Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro will join Hammond at nine once Sacramento’s Jason Terry trade becomes official, and D’Alessandro, like Hinkie, made his debut as an NBA front office chief last summer.
It’s worth noting that the two teams most willing to trade over the last 15 months had the worst records in the NBA this past season, with the Kings not far behind. There’s a general corollary between winning and stability, but three of the four teams that have traded the least since the 2013 offseason failed to make the playoffs last year, including the Pistons, the only team that didn’t swing more than a single deal. Former president of basketball operations Joe Dumars executed that lone swap, the Brandon Jennings sign-and-trade.
A ranking of the teams that have completed the most trades since the beginning of the 2013 offseason is below, in descending order. This takes into account sign-and-trades, draft-pick swaps, and cash transactions, but it doesn’t count draft picks surrendered as compensation for another team letting a coach out of his contract, as we’ve seen with Doc Rivers and Jason Kidd. The number of trades from this offseason is at the left, followed by those from the 2013/14 season and those from the 2013 offseason. The total number of trades is after the equal sign.
- Sixers 6,4,6 = 14
- Bucks 2,1,6 = 9
- Cavaliers 5,2,1 = 8
- Celtics, 2,2,4 = 8
- Kings 2,4,2 = 8
- Nets 4,3,1 = 8
- Hawks 3,1,3 = 7
- Jazz 3,0,4 = 7
- Mavericks 3,0,4 = 7
- Nuggets 2,2,3 = 7
- Pelicans 4,1,2 = 7
- Thunder 3,1,3 = 7
- Timberwolves 3,1,3 = 7
- Wizards 4,1,2 = 7
- Grizzlies 1,1,4 = 6
- Raptors 3,2,1 = 6
- Rockets 3,1,2 = 6
- Suns 1,0,5 = 6
- Warriors 0,2,4 = 6
- Bulls 3,2,0 = 5
- Hornets 4,1,0 = 5
- Clippers 1,2,1 = 4
- Heat 1,2,1 = 4
- Knicks 3,0,1 = 4
- Pacers 1,1,2 = 4
- Trail Blazers 0,0,4 = 4
- Lakers 2,1,0 = 3
- Magic 3,0,0 = 3
- Spurs 1,1,0 = 2
- Pistons 0,0,1 = 1