(Associated Press)

For the sixth time in six seasons, Damien Wilkins played for a different team.

 

His one-year experiment with the 76ers bore some unexpected success: The ninth-year man went from deep reserve to rotation-cracking role player to starter. Counted on for vocal leadership, he gave the Sixers so much more (with 21 starts among his 61 games played, including a .459 shooting percentage in that span – second-best on the team).

 

The downside to Wilkins? Wilkins, whose 18 minutes per game were the most he’s logged since the 2009-10 season, played far too much time. For a winning club, he’s a well-rounded reserve at the beginnings of the second and fourth quarters, and in instances of foul trouble at the small forward spot. For the Sixers, he was clearly stretched him beyond his means.

Not like that mattered to Wilkins.

 

“As a competitor, a guy who gets paid to play, I want to play,” Wilkins said. “I love the game. I work hard in the offseason to play, not to sit.”

 

Quick assessment: Wilkins made the league minimum for a guy with as much experience as he has. If the Sixers can ink him to a similar deal, have at it. If Wilkins elects to try to parlay his increased playing time into a big pay day, the Sixers will go in a different direction.

 

For a green team like the Sixers, whose leaders Jrue Holiday and Thad Young sometimes are too youthful to command the locker room, having Wilkins around wasn’t a bad thing. And Wilkins hopes teams were watching him this season.

 

“All of the NBA is watching,” he said. “The logo on the top of your jersey is the biggest logo on your uniform and every night you go out there is your interview.

 

“Whether or not I found a home here is to be determined. Once free agency starts, this league is funny, man. You go out there and play the best you can, hope for the best in the offseason and it only takes one team to like you. Hopefully it's back here, it's great. If not, hopefully it's somewhere else that's as good an opportunity.”

(Associated Press)

He may not be the most talented man in the 76ers' locker room, but he's certainly the most outspoken.

Damien Wilkins doesn't shy from speaking the truth. He knows the Sixers have the tendency to show effort in games like Monday's, a 106-97 win over Brooklyn, than in games like Sunday's, against a bottom-feeding bunch in Orlando.

“Record-wise, we're not necessarily a good team, either,” Wilkins said, after scoring 13 points against the Nets. “We should want to play hard every night. Even if we're the No. 1 seed in the East, we all should strive to work hard every night. That's what we owe to ourselves, owe to our fans, to our organization. You can't teach effort. I think we have guys in this locker room who want to go out there and play hard every night. It's just a matter of us doing it.”

In a politically correct way, Wilkins made it clear that wins against a team like Brooklyn can be contagious. And the Sixers' schedule certainly doesn't do them any favors, with dates the rest of this week against Eastern Conference contenders Miami and Indiana looming.

Yet, Wilkins understands that accepting a losing attitude – while easier – isn't most satisfactory.
Read more »

A gaggle of reporters were camped out at Andrew Bynum's locker, awaiting news on the big man's legs, when a voice from the other side of the room rang out.

“Guys, my locker's right here,” Damien Wilkins said. “You're at the wrong spot.”

It was then, in the first month of the season, that Wilkins' sense of humor became apparent. Wilkins, the ninth-year forward, has become their defensive specialist. He's one of their first guys off the bench for coach Doug Collins, and a guy who's willing to do the dirty work to earn his keep and earn his teammates' respect.

In a sitdown with Wilkins recently, the 33-year-old talked a lot about respect – trying to make the league to maintain his family legacy, going from an undrafted rookie out of Georgia who was picked up by Seattle in 2004 to being the Sixers' player rep this season. While he averages only 2 points and 1 rebound per game, it's evident Wilkins' impact on the game goes far beyond his individual stats.

He also talked about his comedic stylings, why he doesn't leave his house and who he thinks is the Sixers' best dunker. The answer might surprise you...

Read more »

(Associated Press)

Andrew Bynum was not with the 76ers Thursday, instead heading to New York City for a pair of joint-lubricant injections in his afflicted knees.

A Sixers spokesman said the Synvisc injections were previously scheduled with Bynum's personal physician, Dr. David Altchek, and are not to be considered a setback.

Bynum will take the rest of the week off and will resume his basketball-related activities next week, presumably as soon as Sunday.

Bynum previously received Synvisc-One injections in September. It's understood that the lubricant can provide relief from pain for up to six months.

Monday, Sixers GM Tony DiLeo said it was possible that Bynum could participate in practice with the Sixers by Friday. That, clearly, is out of the question.

*    *    *

In other news: Jason Richardson is in Vail, Colo., for an appointment with knee specialist Dr. Richard Steadman. Richardson is seeking a second opinion on his left knee. ... Damien Wilkins, who missed Wednesday's game, also was not with the team due to personal reasons.

(Associated Press)

Saturday night, the Sixers gave up 100 points. More importantly, they scored 107. And out the door went their five-game slide.

They didn't have Swag, but that didn't matter.

Afterward, the Sixers could have patted themselves on the back for a job well done – having snapped a losing streak, having reached triple digits on the scoreboard, having broken out of a stretch in which the opponent beat them embarrassingly by 18 or more points.

Instead, the Sixers spoke glowingly of their defense. And justifiably so.

The Sixers – despite James Harden's 10-for-19 shooting display – clamped down on Houston's hot-handed guard in the biggest situations. Sixers coach Doug Collins tried just about everybody on Harden, from Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner to Jason Richardson and deep sub Damien Wilkins.

“On defense, that's really where we got it done,” Holiday said. “When it came down to it, we tried to get the ball out of (Harden's) hands in big moments and I think we did that.”

Giving Wilkins 11 minutes meant taking time from elsewhere – like sitting otherwise-healthy guard Nick Young. The guy they call Swaggy P was absent in a high-scoring affair. Seems unjust, right? Not for a team that needed a win desperately.

“We've got to get some defensive identity,” Collins said.

Whatever it takes to right the ship, right?

(NBA.com)

The 76ers unveiled the start date and location of their training camp Friday. They also added four names to their preseason roster.

The team signed free agents Dan Gadzuric, Devin Searcy, Xavier Silas and Damien Wilkins to bring their training-camp roster to 17.

Camp, by the way, opens Tuesday at Saint Joseph’s University’s Hagan Arena and runs through Saturday, Oct. 6. The Sixers begin their slate of seven preseason games Oct. 11 at Orlando.

Gadzuric, a 6-11 forward who has played parts of 10 NBA seasons, was with the Knicks for two games last season. Searcy, an undrafted 6-10 forward who played in Japan last year, got time in five Orlando Summer League games for the Sixers.

Silas (pictured), a 6-5 guard, was a 2011 training-camp invitee who spent the bulk of his year with the Sixers’ D-League affiliate in Maine before signing with the team in April for their playoff run. Wilkins, a 6-6 guard who’s been in the league for eight seasons, played in 60 games last season with the Pistons.