Sixers CEO Scott O'Neil Calls Sam Hinkie The 'Wolf Of Broad Street', Talks About Tonight's Lottery
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie, is not seen or heard from often, except on draft day of course. Last year during the 2013 NBA draft, Hinkie traded Jrue Holiday to the New Orleans Pelicans for the 2013 sixth overall pick in Nerlens Noel and a 2014 first-round pick. Sixers CEO Scott O'Neil says to expect Hinkie, or the "Wolf Of Broad Street" as he called him, to be aggressive on draft day in June.
"Given how aggressive the "Wolf Of Broad Street" is, has been on draft day, I imagine that the real drama unfolds January 24th, 25th, and 26th—I'm sorry June 24th, 25th, and 26th during the draft," O'Neil told the WIP Morning Show on Tuesday.
O'Neil, who is bringing a folded two-dollar bill, a lucky penny, and three cocoa beans to the NBA draft lottery, used an interesting analogy to describe his emotions just hours before the event.
"It's like when you're daughter brings her boyfriend home," O'Neil said. "You're half excited and half sick to your stomach."
The Sixers have a 19.9% chance of acquiring the first-overall pick in Tuesday night's NBA draft lottery and a 55.8% chance of acquiring at least a top-three overall pick (full Sixers odds here). O'Neil says the Sixers do have a sense of who they would take with the first overall selection.
"We don't have a final, but of course have a sense, and there are no big secrets there," O'Neil said. "So there are three guys that people really love and we can be pretty confident in those three. So that's what people—everyone is kind of zeroing in on and I think it's a pretty good sense."
O'Neil previously stated fans should not expect the Sixers to make the playoffs in 2014 and he further clarified that comment.
"Could we hit lightning in a bottle? Could the right thing happen at the right time? Sure, anything could happen especially in the east, but for us our focus is on the bigger prize here," O'Neil said. "It's not a scratch and a claw at the playoffs. It's can we build the right team that can contend for a championship."
