If you wondered how long the Sixers are willing to continue tanking seasons, we got some valuable information from an unlikely source on Wednesday.
When former Sixers great Julius (Dr. J) Erving was on the 76ers roster, he and Mose Malone, Andrew Toney, and Darryl Dawkins were always in competition with the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA Championship. They were always in pursuit of the title.
Yesterday he was on Sirius XM NBA Radio and he matter of factly disclosed the timeline that Sixers ownership has agreed on regarding making the Sixers a championship-caliber NBA team.
“Well when they acquired the team in 2012, maybe, I think the talk was about seven years. Seven years,” Dr. J told the radio show hosts. “So I think it’s still on that same timeline.”
Erving was then asked if that seven-year timeline was to tied to making the playoffs.
“No. To be good,” he responded. “ To be good. To be formidable. To be a contender. That’s probably the 2018-19 [season], right?”
There you have it, Sam Hinkie and company have had a clear, long-term plan for building a championship team. Seven years sound about right. I wonder how long they are willing to continue tanking in order to build a winning team.
