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We could have a front office shakeup in Sacramento.
The Sacramento Kings reached out to the Philadelphia 76ers for permission to speak to former-Sixers GM Sam Hinkie, according to Marc Stein and Zach Lowe of ESPN. Kings fans have tossed Hinkie’s name out as a potential GM candidate, especially given the success of Philly’s “Process” assets this season.
Story posting now: League sources tell @ZachLowe_NBA and me that the Kings have received permission to speak to former Sixers GM Sam Hinkie.
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) March 27, 2017
League sources say Kings have interest in bringing Hinkie into their front office. Neither exact role nor Hinkie's interest level yet known
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) March 27, 2017
Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski indicates that Hinkie could be in play for a role above Vlade Divac in the organization.
Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has been quietly searching for an executive to place over Vlade Divac, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) March 27, 2017
As ESPN reports, Sam Hinkie is a target. Ranadive has casually talked with Hinkie, sources say, but Hinkie unsure his interest in job there.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) March 28, 2017
From Sac's minority owners and NBA, there's been pressure on Ranadive to make Kings front office more professional -- starting at top.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) March 28, 2017
Hinkie was the architect of Philadelphia’s trade with Sacramento a couple summers ago in which Sacramento sent Jason Thompson, Carl Landry, and Nik Stauskas to Philadelphia along with two pick swaps and a future unprotected first rounder in 2019. The trade was the epitome of Hinkie’s plans to acquire assets in whatever way possible.
This would be a major shift for the organization. And there are certainly questions of how Hinkie would handle working under Vivek Ranadivé and what this would mean for current Kings GM Vlade Divac. Even if nothing comes of the Hinkie pursuit, it seems that the Kings are opening the doors to reworking the front office in some way as they face what could be a long-term rebuilding process.