Julius Erving: 76ers told me they were on seven-year plan

Julius Erving: 76ers told me they were on seven-year plan
Dan Feldman Jul 16, 2015, 9:03 AM EDT



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76ers coach Brett Brown said expected the team to draft Andrew Wiggins and Nik Stauskas last year and get good.

Brown was just off by a year or five.

Josh Harris bought the 76ers in 2011 and hired Sam Hinkie as general manager in 2013. Somewhere in there, somebody from the team expressed its plan to franchise legend Julius Erving.

Erving on SiriusXM:

When they acquired the team in 2012 maybe, I think the talk was about seven years. Seven years. So, I think it’s still on that same timeline.

Seven years to make the playoffs? Erving:

No. To be good. To be good. To be formidable. To be a contender. That’s probably 18-19.

That might seem like a long time, but it really isn’t that much longer than the typical rebuild.

The Warriors drafted Stephen Curry, decided to build around him and then won the championship six years later. Building a contender usually takes time.

The 76ers are obviously being quite patient, and I believe they’ll organically determine the right time to surge forward. I don’t see them rushing to sign mediocre free agents in five years just because they’re tired of losing. Once they have a strong group of young players, ideally anchored by a superstar, then they’ll use their assets – cap space and future draft picks – to acquire players capable of helping to win immediately.

That process has been delayed both for reasons in their control (trading Michael Carter-Williams) and out of their control (Joel Embiid‘s injuries).

But I think they’ll stay true to the process – whether that means getting good before seven years are up or taking even longer.

I’d take seven years as an estimate on a very flexible plan.




bob
MY NOTE: If it is true that 7 years is not that much longer than a typical rebuild, then Danny winning a championship (not just "being good, being formidable") in 5 is excellent. If it is not true then it truly sucks to be a Sixer fan because their management are frauds.


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When will the 7 years begin?

Sam

Sounds like the big dig. I know it looks like an awful mess but wait to you see what it looks like when it's finished

Dboss

For those that didn't watch the ESPY'S, the 76ers made it in the opening monologue:

"Tonight, the world's greatest athletes -- and the Philadelphia 76ers -- have gathered with Hollywood's finest actors -- and Ken Jeong -- to celebrate the past year's most incredible athletic achievements."