NBA Draft '13: What would Houston DO (WWHD)??

Check out the original article in its entirety at Philadunkia:

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"It has been pretty quiet out of Sixers camp since Hinkie’s hiring. No one seems to have much of an idea exactly what direction the team is going to go, including in the draft. Hinkie was at the helm of Houston’s draft board for the past six seasons, so taking a look at trends that occurred during his tenure may provide the most insight as to what he may do with the 76ers.

Look down the list of Houston’s draft picks since 2007 and a couple things jump out to you almost immediately. 

First, Hinkie is attracted to international players, and has used a bunch of picks on players from overseas, several of whom have yet to actually play in the NBA. In 2007 they selected Louis Scola from Spain and Brad Newley from Australia followed by Nic Batum from France in 2008 and Sergio Llull from Spain in 2009. Nikola Mirotic from Spain and Turkey’s Furken Aldemir were selected in 2011 and 2012 respectively, both have yet to make the trip over to the NBA.


 

This shows that Hinkie is unafraid of dipping into the international talent pool, even if it doesn’t pay immediate dividends. This year’s draft has several intriguing international players such as Dario Saric and Rudy Gobert, and maybe Hinkie is keen to consider players along these lines. Although drafting international was somewhat successful in Houston, the Sixers need immediate help and one can only hope that Hinkie doesn’t pock a top pocket on an international prospect.

Another thing that stands out from Hinkie’s Houston draft days is the fact that he likes to stock up on picks, and is unafraid to move them. Houston was on the search for a superstar for several seasons, and the front office used a plethora of picks and trades to finally sign James Harden last season. It took their newest first round pick, a starting shooting guard, and future first and second round picks for Harden to be had; one can only assume that he will employ a similar philosophy in Philly. 

Houston had six first round picks between 2010-2012 and the only one that remains on the Rockets’ roster is Terrance Jones. So it may be difficult to determine if a pick is made to be part of the future of the franchise, or as an asset in an attempt to sign a star. 

Lastly, Houston was able to take advantage of their second round picks and find some solid NBA players in the League’s latter round. Although some picks were used on prospects as is often the case with late picks, Carl Landry, Chase Budinger, and Chandler Parsons highlight Houston’s second round picks during the Hinkie era. The Sixers have two second round picks this year, numbers 35 & 42, so I would expect Hinkie to be well-prepared for possibilities at those positions. 

If the 11^th overall pick isn’t spent on an international player, expect one of the second rounders to be; maybe Livio Jean-Charles from France, or even Gobert if he drops that far. The other pick might be spent on a proven college player like Kansas’ Jeff Withey or Syracuse’s James Southerland. 

It will be interesting to see how Hinkie handles his first draft as the basketball brains of Sixers, and if his plan is anything like the one he employed in Houston than complacency shouldn’t be expected."