Sixers GM Hinkie 'sniffed opportunity' with Embiid, sums up his strategy in general

Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie came under some fire this season for treading too egregiously when it came to the Sixers rebuilding plan. Being mediocre was no way to improve, and being just bad didn't guarantee much. To load the franchise up with as much talent as possible, Hinkie had to blow the whole thing up and bottom out.

Coming off a 34-48 season, Hinkie blew things up in the summer of 2013. He dealt Jrue Holiday for a pair of first-round picks. He took on contracts and dealt fringey veterans for second-round picks. He gambled on players with issues. He hired a highly regarded coach who was willing to play out a down year.

But Hinkie made it clear on draft night last year that this wouldn't be a quick rebuild when he used the No. 6 overall pick, acquired in the Holiday deal, on Nerlens Noel, the high-upside Kentucky center who was likely to miss significant time after tearing his ACL in February.

Noel never ended up playing a minute, and the Sixers finished with the league's second-worst record at 19-63. In a fit of supposed basketball karma, they slid to No. 3 in the lottery for their outright tanking.

On draft night this year, Hinkie once again hammered home that this isn't going to be a quick and painless process.

One year after drafting a long-term play - mind you, they also took Michael Carter-Williams, the Rookie of the Year - Hinkie used the fruits of a lost season not to add to the Noel-MCW core but to once again make a longer-term, upside play.

First, Hinkie selected Joel Embiid at No. 3. Embiid is thought to perhaps have the highest ceiling in this loaded draft class but is expected to miss five-to-eight months with a broken navicular bone in his right foot. It would surprise exactly nobody if Embiid got "the Noel treatment" and eventually missed the entire season.

Next, he drafted Elfrid Payton at No. 10, flipping him to the Orlando Magic for No. 12 pick Dario Saric and picking up a future first-round pick and a future second-round pick in the process. Saric, like Embiid, has immense upside but isn't expected in the NBA until 2015-16 at the very earliest, and 2016-17 in the more likely scenario.

With Embiid, Hinkie said he "sniffed opportunity," seeing a chance to nab the player who may be the best from the draft with the third pick. No matter that he and Noel are both centers, as they may be able to play together and, if not, each should have higher trade value than their draft value once they're healthy.

And that really speaks to Hinkie's entire strategy here, one we feel strongly about when it comes to rebuilding from a clean slate: talent rules above all else. You don't win a championship with decent players, and taking potentially undervalued stars - at a cost of only patience - could pay immense dividends down the line. It's tough from a fan perspective, of course, and it could be another difficult year in Philly, but it may be worth it in the long run if they're flush with talent two or three years down the road.

Meanwhile, fans will have theScore-favorite K.J. McDaniels, Jerami Grant and Jordan McRae, both second-round picks this year, Pierre Jackson, acquired for the No. 47 pick, and the debuting Noel, plus the reigning Rookie of the Year, to root for.

The future is bright in Philadelphia, it's just going to take some patience.