(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.”

(Associated Press)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – James Southerland doesn’t think fans have seen the best that Michael Carter-Williams has to offer. And to those questioning Carter-Williams’ ability to gut out injuries, Southerland can only shake his head.

“Everyone’s always going to say something about you,” said Southerland, a rookie forward for the Charlotte Bobcats and a Syracuse teammate of Carter-Williams’.

“He’s always been tough. He played through injuries in college. It’s tough," Southerland added. "People don’t understand you’re playing 17 games in a month. Most people don’t work out 17 times in a month. There’s natural wear and tear. He’s a tough kid. He’ll get through it.”

Carter-Williams’ latest injury, a sore right knee, precluded the rookie point guard from traveling with the 76ers for Friday night’s game at Time Warner Cable Arena against Southerland’s Bobcats. Two injuries in a 20-game span have forced Carter-Williams to miss five games for the Sixers.

Southerland knows what it’s like to have to sit and watch. He’s been reduced to three minutes of action this season, upon entering the league as an undrafted player. He can relate to Carter-Williams, who in addition to missing time with the Sixers due to injury also sat out chunks of his freshman year at Syracuse while climbing the depth chart.

“He’s a great kid. He’s one of those guys that’s passionate about winning,” Southerland said. “At Syracuse, even though he didn’t play much his first year, we knew he was a talented kid. He had mental ability to stick it through, wait another year and lead us to the Final Four.

“The times he did play his freshman year, he helped us a lot. It is frustrating when you’re not playing, especially when you’re coming in a McDonald’s All-American. But he knew in the back of his head that he’d be the only guard the next year, and he’d be ready to kill it.”

(AP)

CHARLOTTE – Rookie Michael Carter-Williams is not made of glass.

In not so many words, that’s what 76ers coach Brett Brown said at the team’s morning shootaround Friday at Time Warner Cable Arena. Brown does not view the injuries to Carter-Williams, the latest of which prompted the Sixers to keep him from traveling with the team, is a trend.

Sixth man Tony Wroten will start in Carter-Williams’ place.

“Some of it is related to bad luck. Some of it his body and (he’s) young and (playing) big minutes and other things,” Brown said of Carter-Williams. “I’m sticking more with luck than a trend. I think his competitiveness and his toughness is a good thing where he’ll learn to get through some things as time unfolds. But these recent things, he should be sat. He should be left at home.”

Carter-Williams stayed home to continue receiving treatment on the swollen right knee that he initially injured last Sunday. The rookie point guard played through it Tuesday, though the soreness got the best of him Thursday, forcing him to become a spectator at practice.

He’s had two injuries through the Sixers’ first 20 games, leading Carter-Williams to sit out five games – Friday’s against the Bobcats included. And Brown does not give Carter-Williams good odds to suit up Saturday against visiting Denver, either.

Brown chalked up Carter-Williams’ injuries to “unfortunate circumstances,” he said.

"We all wish we was playing, and so does he. It’s not something that you look at as a negative. It’s a series of bad-luck and unfortunate circumstances,” Brown said. “Ultimately those people that can play and avoid injuries, it’s an interesting statistic or part of persevering with people, re-signing people, chasing in a free-agent market, determining somebody’s worth. That’s bottom-line stuff, how many games in a long period of time do they normally miss? 

“Some people fall into that too-high-a-risk basket. For Michael, this is all early days and part of the process. I’m leaning on his toughness and his competitiveness. Whenever anything minor comes up, he’ll be there.”

(AP)

The 76ers might have to go without Michael Carter-Williams Friday at Charlotte.

The rookie point guard did not practice Thursday, and has not tried running on since Tuesday against Orlando. He’s receiving treatment on a swollen right knee that he incurred Sunday at Detroit. Carter-Williams’ knee was wrapped in what resembled a form-fitting sleeve.

The knee is swollen and pain has diminished, he said.

“It’s day-to-day. I’ll be down in Charlotte, seeing how I feel at shootaround,” Carter-Williams said after practice. “If I’m feeling good, I’ll give it a go.”

Sixers coach Brett Brown wasn’t as upbeat about it.

“I’m not optimistic,” Brown said. “He may (play), but I don’t believe he will.”

The Sixers have gone 1-3 in games in which Carter-Williams has not played. The 21-year-old missed four games in November with a bruise of the arch on his left foot.

If left to his devices, Brown guessed that Carter-Williams would play. But Brown indicated it might be in his best interests to sit this one out.

“It’s out there, the importance of playing through pain, the importance of reputation with your teammates that there’s a toughness and a resilience that you’ll get through things,” Brown said. “And then (playing with an injury) falls into it’s just not smart. It’s always a fine line. Ultimately it comes down to medical people. Michael is all in. Michael is good to go. He’s been advised that we have to be really cautious. He understands that. So do I.

“It surprised me during (Tuesday’s) overtime, when he took off his knee brace. I looked down and I actually saw his knee. It’s maroon, it’s swollen. If you put your hand on it, it was warm because of the swelling. Maybe an infection. When you actually see it, it’s going to be something where we’re smart with him. Today, I’m happy with two things – his toughness and the medical staff’s intellect on (how) he should not go. That might be the case (Friday).”

The Sixers’ odds to win at Charlotte will undoubtedly take a hit without Carter-Williams in the lineup. They have lost seven in a row away from Wells Fargo Center, going since Nov. 1 at Washington without a road victory.

“I think the biggest difference is when you’re home, you’ve got your home crowd,” Carter-Williams said. “When you’re away, at the start of the game, it’s tough to come back from a little adversity. The crowd gets into it, the team gets pretty hyped up. It’s just dealing with that adversity when (you’re) away.”

(Associated Press)

Evan Turner broached a topic Saturday on which he has no control.

“I'm not a GM,” the Sixers' third-year swingman said, when asked if he had given much thought to an ESPN report saying the Sixers were either shopping Turner or gauging his value on the trade market. “I think it all adds up to what a team needs. That's it. Whatever,” Turner said. “I think the best is yet to come – for me in general, wherever that occurs.”

Circuitously, Sixers general manager Tony DiLeo said he had no comment on the report, from ESPN's Marc Stein.

“I don't comment on any trade rumors,” DiLeo said. “We talk to every team in the league and we'll do something if it improves our team. I have no comment on any trade rumors.”

If the Sixers are hoping to shop Turner before the Feb. 21 trade deadline, his value is falling.
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