Sam Hinkie focused on rebuilding the 76ers

Tearing a team down for a full rebuild is sometimes necessary. When a roster simply isn’t going to amount to much, sometimes it’s best to say goodbye to a lot of players and start again, from the ground up. Here’s Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

While the moves he made weren’t always popular, Hinkie decided to reshape the franchise.

He traded all-star point guard Jrue Holiday on draft night to the New Orleans Pelicans for rookie center Nerlens Noel.

He did not re-sign free agents Andrew Bynum, Damien Wilkins, Nick Young, Dorell Wright, Royal Ivey, or Charles Jenkins.

Instead, he made risk-free deals to acquire fringe players who are either in the last year of their deals or have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts.

Hinkie also acquired the rights to Furkan Idemir (Turkey) and Arsalan Kazami (Iran), two power forwards who are playing professionally overseas.

Philadelphia 76ers waive Rodney Williams and Gani Lawal

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they waived the contracts of guard Rodney Williams and forward Gani Lawal.

The NBA regular season starts Tuesday night, and teams around the league must trim their rosters to 15 players or less. So, lots of players signed to non-guaranteed or low-paying contracts are being let go.