Sam Hinkie’s work as General Manager in Philadelphia unofficially commenced when he traded Jrue Holiday for Nerlens Noel and a pick he converted to Dario Saric and another first round pick. It turns out he may have been in too much of a rush to ship him off to New Orleans.
The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting, citing two sources, that the Sixers were forced to pay $3 million to the Pelicans last season for not disclosing injuries. Specifically, they did not share that Holiday played his All-Star 2012-13 campaign with stress fractures in his lower right leg.
As Keith Pompay, who broke the story, writes in his report, the physical that New Orleans administered to Holiday should have revealed any damage to the area. However, what followed were two injury-plagued seasons. Holiday played in only 77 games combined in the two seasons since the trade. In his final year with Philadelphia, he played and started in 78 games, including the final 57 games of the season.
However, that is not where the story ends. Being on the victim’s side in another significant deal, the Sixers brought to the league’s attention a case of them not being informed on Andrew Bynum’s bad knee.
According to the other two sources, the Sixers are now trying to receive a payment from the Los Angeles Lakers for allegedly misinforming them about Andrew Bynum. Bynum came to the Sixers from Los Angeles in a four-team deal in August 2012. But the 7-foot center never played for the team due to chronically injured knees.
"They are saying the Lakers didn't disclose all of the information about Bynum's knees," one of the sources said. "They think they should be able to get some type of monetary resolution."
The way Pompay writes “the Sixers are now trying to receive a payment…” indicates that they are going after the Lakers as a result of being cited by the Pelicans. If the league finds the Lakers guilty, you have to wonder if they will then go after the Phoenix Suns for insufficient medical information on Steve Nash. Or, someone will break this chain, full of promise, of reacting to infractions.
