Sam Hinkie agreed to a rare interview with ESPN's Pablo Torre just two days after his former boss, Daryl Morey, was hired by the Philadelphia 76ers for the job Hinkie had from 2013 until 2016. Hinkie's tenure was controversial as he stripped down the team in order to accumulate high draft picks and future assets.

"I do talk everyday, I just don't talk to you and your colleagues at ESPN on television every day," said Hinkie to Torre. "It's not everyday you get to gas up one of your friends that just had something awesome happen in their life that happens to coalesce with a bunch of my life."

Hinkie was asked for his reaction to Morey joining the 76ers.

"I was stoked," said Hinkie. "I'm stoked now. I think it's great news. He's not a good hire. He's a great hire. It's a really big move for the franchise. For a franchise I care a lot about. With a bunch of people I care a lot about. I just think it portends really great things for the future, for the Sixers. Which remains meaningful to me. So I'm stoked."

There have many suggestions that the 76ers will have to eventually break up Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons via trade, which Hinkie believes is not something that should be treated as an absolute necessity. 

"Oh gosh. Don't people remember what it took to get them? Right? For all of them," said Hinkie. "Getting a star player in the NBA is like not impossibly hard, but close. Right? And requires an incredible amount of luck, or an amazing amount of time, or some other way to try to get at it. What is Joel? 26? To have a young player who is nominally in a traditional sense just entering his prime and say 'We've got to blank.' No, job one is you've got to get great players on your team. That's job one. And he is one. I'm not alone on this."