NBA NEWS

Sixers, Hinkie had youth in mind in Young trade

The Sports Xchange

August 26, 2014 at 2:29 pm.

Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie. Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

PHILADELPHIA — Like the rest of Sam Hinkie’s other transactions since becoming president and general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers last May, his most recent trade was not designed to make the team better. At least, not in the short term.

After weeks of speculation, a three-team deal was finally made official Saturday. It sent Thaddeus Young out of Philadelphia to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Luc Mbah a Moute and Alexey Shved. The Sixers also picked up Miami’s 2015 first-round draft selection, which came by way of Cleveland.

“Obviously, this is a move that we think moves our program forward and one we chose to do collectively,” Hinkie said on a conference call with the media on Tuesday afternoon. “I think in a trade like this, (there’s) several components that matter.”

Philadelphia might not have parted with an All-Star like Kevin Love — who went to the Cavaliers from Minnesota — but the key to the deal from the Sixers’ end was the draft pick, the type of futures investment Hinkie has been stockpiling with an eye on a turnaround. This June, the Sixers selected Joel Embiid (third) and Dario Saric (12th) in the first dozen picks of the draft; as long as Miami stays out of the top 10 this year, where they have the pick protected, it’ll be twice in two years that Philadelphia owns a pair of selections in the first round.

“Nobody anticipates Miami will be in the top 10, they’ll be a very solid team this year and we’ll see how that plays out,” Hinkie said. “That (pick is) important, you don’t see a lot of first-rounders trading hands these days.”

In getting rid of Young, Hinkie moved one of the more popular Sixers in recent memory. Drafted by Philadelphia with the 12th overall pick in 2007 after just one year at Georgia Tech, Young spent the first seven seasons of his NBA career in the City of Brotherly Love, appearing in 516 games (294 starts) for the franchise.

He leaves after easily his individual season as a pro, where he averaged a career-best 17.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while also dishing out 2.3 assists and picking up more than two steals per game. But more than that, his professionalism and work ethic endeared him to the blue-collar city, and to the organization.

“During all of my time here he really was a day-to-day pro and something that’s really, really appreciated,” Hinkie said. “You don’t say (that) very much, but I don’t think you find people like Thad very much. He’s straight down the middle, he’s professional, he loves his wife, he’s close to his kids, (and) he surrounds himself with great people.”

What the Sixers are getting back in terms of on-court assets isn’t quite as impressive as what they sent away. Mbah a Moute, a seventh-year pro out of UCLA, has career averages of 6.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, while Shved, a 6-6 guard and Russia native, has averaged 6.5 ppg and 2.5 apg in his first two years in the league.

Where Hinkie is hoping the two can have an impact is off the court, especially in regards to the oft-traded Mbah a Moute — like Embiid, a native of Cameroon — who will be on a new team for the fourth time since 2013.

“We’re definitely in the mode of player development, that’s really important,” Hinkie said. “Sometimes that’s about ‘this is the way life in the NBA works, this is what the rhythm is like, this is how to take care of your body … I’m hopeful, based on the high character that is a guy like Luc, that it may prove helpful with Joel and with other players.”