Philadelphia 76ers’ Acquisition Of Nik Stauskas Is Sam Hinkie's Biggest Coup

Nik Stauskas, Philadelphia 76ers, Sacramento Kings,
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Just when some Philadelphia 76ers fans were bracing for another year of tanking, they found an unlikely hero in GM Sam Hinkie. The very architect of the two steps back, one step forward philosophy took a couple of giant steps forward to rob the Sacramento Kings and relative newbie GM Vlade Divac.

The 76ers immediately improved their shooting by adding Nik Stauskas for the comparatively small price ($13 million) of taking on the salaries of veterans Carl Landry and Jason Thompson. They also got a lightly-protected first-round pick from the Kings and the opportunity to swap first-round picks as early as 2017.

In return, the Sixers also gave up the rights to an international player, supposedly not last year’s first-round pick, Dario Saric. The Sixers are not printing playoff tickets just yet, but they have become a significantly better team. The swap of picks is a clear indication that Hinkie believes the tanking is over, and the Sixers will be in a better place than the Kings sooner rather than later.

To be fair to the Kings, Stauskas was not good last year, but he also did not get much opportunity. He was, however, good enough to be a top-10 pick coveted by the Sixers a year ago. Stauskas was a great shooter at college, and he did not forget how to shoot. The Sixers, who have three players around seven feet tall (Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor), need that commodity to unclog the paint — and Stauskas will provide it.

The Sixers got better by adding Okafor, and even more so by adding a complementary piece in Stauskas, who will be given every opportunity to start. He should get a steady diet of kick-out open jumpers.

If anything, Hinkie proved with this deal that a lifetime front office professional can and will fleece a neophyte. Divac, known better as a player, certainly fits that description.  Hinkie has always preached trust in his process and with this move, he at least signaled that winning soon will become part of it.

Mike Gibson is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @papreps , “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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