The Philadelphia 76ers are still without a coach and amid all the talk, general manager Sam Hinkie has said that the team has the opportunity to be active in the trade market and names like Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young will continue to be mentioned in deals.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, Hinkie said that after the trade of Jrue Holiday the team is ready to work on a new system and mentioned that Evan Turner could be one player that steps up, but there have also been reports about his possible trade. The team was high on him after drafting him at number two and depending on how he plays this season he could be used as trade bait after averaging 13.3 points and 6.4 rebounds a game last year.
"With change comes opportunity," Hinkie told CSNPhilly.com this week. (Despite what some people might believe, Hinkie hasn't gone to ground.) "Our team and our roster is very different than last year with a different composition of players, likely a different system, definitely different players on the floor. This could well be an opportunity where Evan thrives. I hope our standards will be a place where hard work and competitiveness are rewarded and valued. Evan has those in spades."
The 76ers already made a big move this offseason by trading away All-Star Jrue Holiday to the Pelicans and after getting Nerlens Noel back in the deal, the team is still without a head coach and it will be extremely hard for them to compete in the East next season. The team has a number of players that could move in deals and the team has the most salary cap room in the league after other franchises signed big name stars like Dwight Howard, Josh Smith and Andre Iguodala. Hinkie gave himself some space to work with after trading Holiday and now more moves could be coming.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Sixers said they will be active in trades this offseason and Hinkie said that the team will be an attractive trade partner during the season due to the cap room that they have. The team is currently $16.6 million under the cap and the top names to move are Thaddeus Young, Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes as they try to build around Noel and other young players like Royce White. Young will be the most attractive option to other team, as he had one of the best years of his career last season while averaging nearly 15 points and eight rebounds along with nearly two steals per game. His long range shooting needs work, but after the Sixers went just 34-48, Young could be on the move.
Hawes is another young player that should get some attention after averaging 11.0 points and over seven rebounds per game for the Sixers and he showed flashes last season of All-Star talent. Turner has been a disappointment since being a top five pick, but after averaging 13.3 points and over four rebounds per game last season, he too could be an attractive piece that gets moved. The Sixers pulled off the deal for Noel to get rid of Holiday's contract and after adding him, the team feels it got a steal as he was the number six pick after being predicted to go number one.