On Monday the 76ers announced that Sam Hinkie had decided to waive shooting guard James Anderson bringing an end to his predictable time in a Sixers uniform.  The Sixers claimed Anderson off of waivers on July 16, 2013 and at the time he was hailed as an undervalued talent who owned a lethal jumper from deep.  Most of that turned out to be false.

Anderson appeared in 80 games last year for the Sixers, starting in 62 of those games,  and averaged 10 points, 4 rebounds and shot a paltry 32.8% from three.  Anderson did show an ability to drive the ball to the cup, but his lackluster performance from behind the arc, the fact that he was a liability on defense and salary cap factors led to his release by Hinkie.

The release of Anderson saves the 76ers about $1million dollars, but more importantly the move now opens up a wing spot in the 76ers’ first five.  So once again this year, the 76ers will head to training camp wondering who will be the starting shooting guard on opening night

After the jump we’ll examine the candidates to fill that spot.

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Philadunkia nation fan there is very good chance that we won’t see our first round talents from the 2014 NBA Draft suit up for the team this year.  With Embiid nursing his broken foot for the next six to eight months and Saric playing in Turkey for at least the next two years, the only prospects from Draft14 we’ll see on the court next season will be those Sam Hinkie selected in the second round.

When all the wheeling and dealing was done last Thursday night, Hinkie ended up bringing home four 2^nd round selections, and with the double tank…I mean…another rebuilding year coming up 2014-15, it’s highly likely that this group of second round picks will make the Sixers’ roster and one or two of them may even play significant minutes for Brett Brown this coming season.

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Here’s the way I look at Sam Hinkie and the 76ers 2014 NBA Draft:

You have been dating a woman for a significant period of time — let’s say 9 months.   She has some issues that need work, but overall the gal is cool.  There have been some bumps in the road along the way.  However, as a whole things have gone fairly well and you really like the long term potential of the relationship.

As you approach the relationship’s one year anniversary (June 2013 to June 2014) you plan a special night for the two of you.  It has been communicated to you (although not verbally) that she too is excited about this big happening (Draft night 2014) and that your loyalty and time over the last year will be greatly rewarded.

The night goes perfectly and as you arrive back at your place, she heads into the bedroom to change into something “more comfortable”.  When she returns your gal has on flannel pajamas.  Next she heads to the fridge and grabs a pint of ice cream.  Then she plops on the couch and puts on a chic flick.

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We have reached the “sources say” portion of NBA Draft week, which means right now there are more lies and misdirections floating around the rumor mill than Swaggy P photos on Instagram.

Even though Hinkie is the most tight lipped GM is the League, he isn’t immune to the sources syndrome that has kicked into hyperdrive in the last 24 hours.  Multiple reports have the 76ers sticking at No. 3 and drafting either Dante Exum or Joel Embiid.  A number of other reports claim the Sixers are desperate to move up and are working hard to make that happen on Thursday night. One thing is for sure, the 76ers and their front office people will be in the spotlight at the 2014 NBA Draft.

So, we asked our scribes to assume Sam Hinkie’s role for a minute and submit ideas for both scenarios.

Answers and ideas after the jump.

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With the 2014 NBA Draft just two days away, we though we would check in with the online mock drafts and review how Joel Embiid’s foot injury has impacted the “expert’s” for which direction the 76ers will go on Thursday night with the third pick.

Needless to say, Embiid’s injury has created a good deal of chaos for Sam Hinkie at the No. 3 spot.  Prior to Embiid’s injury and subsequent surgery, Hinkie was likely going to draft whichever Top 3 prospect — Embiid, Parker and Wiggins — was still on the board when the Sixers went on the clock. Now, all bets are off and the Sixers appear to be a the wildcard of the teams in the Lottery portion of the 2014 Draft.

Thus, when I gathered the “expert” opinions from around the world wide web, I was very surprised to discover only two schools of thought on what Hinkie will do on Thursday night.

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With yesterday’s breaking news, that is the question.

As you know by now, Joel Embiid, the projected 1st pick in the 2014 NBA Draft has a foot fracture and will have surgery today to repair the injury.  Thursday’s headlines sent every team with a Lottery pick this year scrambling to reconstruct their Draft plans and asking, “Is Embiid worth taking a gamble on with a Top 12 pick?”

Embiid’s injury presents a very interesting dilemma for Sam Hinkie the 76ers, who as we all know have two Lottery selections next Thursday night (No. 3 & No. 10) and thus will likely have two opportunities to draft or pass on the athletic, but injury prone, 7-foot center from Kansas.

So we put two questions to the scribes here at Philadunkia…

If he is available, would you draft Embiid at No. 3?…and…If he is available, would you draft Embiid at No. 10?

Answers and ideas after the jump.

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Yesterday we reviewed and analyzed the list of prospects the online “experts” are predicting the 76ers could select with the No. 10 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.  To be honest, there weren’t any real surprises among the  “expert” forecasts and there certainly wasn’t any of the creativity Sam Hinkie showed at the 2013 NBA Draft.

So, a couple of us here at Philadunkia started wondering, “If Sam Hinkie thinks outside the box at #10 and drafts a prospect that none of the “experts” have connected to the Sixers, which player would Hinkie grab and why?”  

After the jump, four Philadunkia scribes will make a prediction on a “dark horse” selection that Hinkie could roll the dice on at #10 and provide some thoughts on why Hinkie may decide to go that direction with the Sixers second lottery pick.

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Draft day 2014 is quickly approaching.  While most mock drafts have the 76ers taking either Parker or Wiggins with their first pick (No. 3 overall), there seems to be a wide range of players who the  “experts” predict the team will select with their 2^nd Lottery opportunity, the 10^th overall pick.

We pray that Sam Hinkie grabs a prospect with the 3rd pick that someday develops into a franchise level star.  Even if Hinkie strikes gold at No. 3 the 76ers will still have a number of holes to fill, thus finding a solid prospect at #10 will still be a key to rebuilding this franchise.  Since the Sixers have so many needs to address at this upcoming draft and this deep class boasts a host of prospects who could be a good fit with the franchise going forward, there is no consensus among the “experts” as to which prospect Hinkie & Co. may take at No. 10.

So once again, we searched the world wide web and gathered up a host of “expert” opinions on what to expect from the Sixers at the 10th spot on Draft Night 2014.

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The 2014 NBA Draft is two weeks from Thursday and in case you have been living under the damaged 495 bridge in Delaware, you know that the 76ers own two (#3 and #10) Lottery slots in this draft.  Needless to say, June 26th, 2014 will be a monumental night in the history of this franchise.

In the last thirteen years, having multiple Lottery picks at the draft has also provided monumental nights for nine different NBA franchises. Unfortunately for the Sixers and Philadunkia nation, history has shown the majority of those extra special draft nights – which were once filled with so much hope and potential — have developed into monumental failures for the franchises involved.

After the jump, I’ll review the list of franchises that have owned multiple Lottery slots over the last 13 years of the NBA Draft.  Then I’ll analyze whether or not the prospects selected with those multiple Lottery picks had productive NBA careers.

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