(AP)

Byron Mullens is, admittedly, a little salty about the term “rebuilding.”

The fifth-year big man was around for two seasons of Charlotte’s transformation: a 7-59 lockout-shortened campaign in 2011-12, and a 21-61 record in 2012-13. Then the Bobcats opted against picking up Mullens’ option for this season. (He later signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, who traded him to the 76ers at the deadline.)

Now, as Mullens wrapped up a 19-win season with the Sixers, he was left to watch his former team in Charlotte qualify for the playoffs as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, with a 43-39 record. And Mullens said he’d prefer not to repeat history.

“It sucked to be in Charlotte. It sucked to be in a rebuilding process,” Mullens said Thursday, when the Sixers conducted end-of-the-year exit interviews at their PCOM practice facility. “What sucked worse was to be in the rebuilding process and not be in the process now that they’re in, in a playoff race and in the playoffs. I’d say, if I’m going to give it my all in the rebuilding process, I’d like to be in it all the way – even after the rebuilding process is over. We’ll see what happens.”

When asked whether he’d like to return for next season, Mullens would not say. He holds a $1.06 million player option, though he could opt out and test free agency.

“We definitely talked about it, and we talked about the options we have with how many draft picks we’ve got in the draft and all of that,” Mullens said, of a discussion he had with Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie. “I’d just like to keep that between me and him, and see what happens. Obviously, everybody knows they have a lot of draft picks. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.

“It’s tough. Me and Sam talked about (rebuilding), as well. My two years in Charlotte, they had a pretty young team. Obviously it was a rebuilding kind of like we have here now. People just have to be patient. It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a while for young guys. You’re looking at 19-year-old kids playing with grown men. It’s tough. You have to respect it and be patient.”

Two numbers that might work against Mullens moving forward: The Sixers went 0-18 in games in which he played, and 4-4 in games in which he did not appear.

(Associated Press)

The 76ers have lost eight consecutive games since they acquired Byron Mullens at the trade deadline. To Mullens, that’s got to feel like a mere drop in the bucket.

Mullens’ current team has lost 17 straight games, and will look to end that streak Wednesday against visiting Sacramento.

But weathering bad times on a basketball court is nothing new to Mullens, who endured a 23-game losing streak to close out the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season. He and the Charlotte Bobcats won March 17, 2011 … and didn’t win again until the next season.

That situation, like this one he’s going through the Sixers, isn’t going to wear down Mullens, he said.

“The thing you have to realize is this is just a game. You come here, you practice, you work. It’s a job,” Mullens said the other day, before the Sixers’ loss at New York. “You can’t let this ruin your whole day. I’ve got other stuff I’ve got to focus on. This is not making my life. There’s other more-important things than just basketball. It doesn’t ruin the rest of my day.”

The losing does have a way of getting tiring, though … right?

“Does your job get tiring every day? I mean, it’s the same thing every day, right?” Mullens asked rhetorically. “We just go out there and have fun.”

The 2011-12 Bobcats and the 2013-14 Sixers have similarities. Those Bobcats had a roster with three rookies, four third-year guys and two fourth-year guys – all of whom factored into their rotation. These Sixers are the youngest team in NBA history.

“You have a young team and that’s what happens,” Mullens said. “You just have to keep everybody’s spirits up, do what you can and, like I said, there’s more important stuff than basketball. You just have to go out and play. As long as you’re having fun, that’s the best thing.”

But having fun can’t be an easy task to accomplish when your team hasn't won since Jan. 29.

“It depends,” Mullens said. “If you love the game, you don’t have a problem going out there and doing it every game. I don’t have a problem with it. We’re going out there, giving it our all, and that’s all you can ask for.”