(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.

(AP)

The Portland Trail Blazers brought to Philly a familiar face, in Dorell Wright.

Wright, who spent last season with the 76ers, got a two-year, $6 million deal in the summer from Portland. That’s a pay cut for the 10^th-year swingman, who made more than $4 million for his work with the 2012-13 Sixers.

Still, it’s more than the Sixers were willing to offer Wright, who averaged 9.2 points and shot 39.6 percent last season.

“There was nothing,” Wright said.

That being said, the grass in the Rose City isn’t always greener. Wright, who’s playing with an unspecified bench role for the Western Conference-leading Blazers, is averaging fewer minutes (14.2) than all but one season in his career. He’s averaging 4.9 points and 2.5 rebounds in 23 appearances, with zero starts. Also, he’s shooting 34.9 percent from 3-point range – his lowest total from beyond the arc since 2006-07.

“But we’re winning,” Wright said. “I don’t give a damn how many minutes (I’m playing) as long as we’re winning. I could care less if I was playing 40 minutes a night on a losing team. That don’t make no sense. The ultimate goal at the end of the day is to win. That’s what we’re doing, and I’m happy with my role, I’m happy with this team.”

Wright said he’s stayed in touch with current Sixers Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes and Arnett Moultrie, as well as deposed coach Doug Collins. Wright has no regrets from his one season with the Sixers, a team of shooters assembled around anticipated centerpiece Andrew Bynum.

“When that put the team in, as far as the different pieces, it didn’t work out with all the different injuries,” Wright said. “I still looked at it as me going out there each and every night and leaving it out there on the court. I’m not looking at it just as, ‘I’m here for a year,’ or whatever it was. I wanted to be back. You always want to be in a city as long as you can. They had other plans, as far as going young and rebuilding. I had other plans, as far as going to a different team and getting to the playoffs. I haven’t been the last couple years.”

(AP)

Amid the highs and lows of his NBA career, Evan Turner has always been one to have fun. Count Friday’s practice among those fun moments for him.

Wearing a white jersey with green trim, Turner said he had to swap out his usual practice threads – the ones that comply with the Sixers’ color scheme – because of a hit from Hollis Thompson.

“I got hacked,” Turner said. “If I die, his fingerprints will be all over it. … I’m bleeding from somewhere. I got hit. I felt blood. I didn’t cry.”

Having fun isn’t enough to keep Turner from thinking about his future, which may or may not be with the 76ers. Turner, the fourth-year forward, is slated to make $6.7 million in the final year of his contract.

“It doesn’t really bother me. I take it one day at a time,” he said. “Like I’ve said, I’ll be somewhere next year. All of that other stuff doesn’t really bother me. … I’ll be fine. I’ll play hard and I’m going to get money regardless. I don’t worry about that.”

You’d like to think Turner’s focus is on this season, but he seemed to indicate that he doesn’t think he’ll be here all season,.

“I’m not a GM. It’s a new system. I really don’t know,” he said. “That’s a year or so away. A few months away. I don’t know.”

What do you think: Does Turner finish the season with the 76ers? Get traded at the deadline? Re-sign with them next season?

(AP)

More than a few times last season, Andrew Bynum uttered the words, "I'm going to be ready."

Friday, he said them again. This time, in front of a contingent of Cleveland reporters as the 7-foot center was introduced as a member of the Cavaliers.

Bynum, who made $16.8 million last season despite never playing for the 76ers, got a 2-year, $24-million contract from the Cavaliers. And after twin knee surgeries, he hopes he can finally put to rest all of the criticisms that dogged him last season --- namely, that he never wished to play through pain.

"I want to play a full season," Bynum said. "There is no doubt in my mind that I couldn't do that. Yes, I'm going to be ready. That is the plan. As long as I stick to it, I really believe that I have a great chance with this organization."

Bynum characterized comments about his work ethic as "completely" out of line.

"I worked really hard to get where I am, and I continue to work hard," Bynum said. "I've had injuries in the past, and there is a lot to be said for people who think that way. But I think if you get to know me and you look at how hard I have worked to get where I am now, that that's kind of nonsense."

A number of setbacks prevented Bynum from ever making it onto the court with the Sixers, who traded for Bynum in a four-team deal last August. January of last season, he engaged in 1-on-0 workouts. February, he practiced with his team for the first time. By March, he had given up on the season and chose to undergo surgery.

So returning to form, with Bynum averaging a double-double in the 2011-12 season with the Los Angeles Lakers, his most productive year as a pro, is next up for the big man.

"I feel like for me getting my career back on track and really playing a full year is my only goal with this season," Bynum said. "I really feel like I can accomplish it. Work ethic-wise, I come in every day and I work hard. I don't really -- I feel like it's a little bit unfair at times, but that's just something that comes with the territory. Obviously, you take that and use it as motivation to come out and prove everybody wrong."

Count Sixers fans among them.

Associated Press

The Swag has left the building.

Multiple reports Thursday confirmed that free agent guard Nick Young has agreed to a contract of unspecified length with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to his agent Mark Bartelstein.

Young, whose flashy style of play on the court and ostentatious dress code off it earned him the nickname Swaggy P, spent last season with the 76ers. Mostly coming off the bench for them, Young averaged 10.6 points per game in 59 appearances.

The shooting guard is familiar with L.A., having played his college ball at USC and having spent one season with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Young was a head-scratcher of a player in his time with the Sixers. He seemed to be well-liked among those in the locker room and in the stands, but never could string together continuously solid play. He turned into a starter for Doug Collins’ team in January, after embracing defense. But he quickly fell out of favor with Collins … and fell out of the Sixers’ rotation.

Young’s best games for the Sixers came when he had the freedom to fire away. His stats defend that theory: In wins, Young averaged 9.2 points on 41 percent shooting overall and 30 percent from 3-point range. In losses, he tallied 11.6 points on 41 percent shooting overall and 39 percent from long range. On five occasions last season, Young scored 21 or more points. The Sixers lost four of them.

In other Sixers-related news Thursday…

****While the deal (technically) is unofficial – at least until Jrue Holiday returns from his honeymoon and signs paperwork to legitimize the trade – Nerlens Noel is a member of the 76ers … and he’s decided on a jersey number.

According to an ESPN report, it’ll be No. 5 – as in the number of teams that passed on him in last month’s NBA Draft. One problem with that is Arnett Moultrie already wears No. 5, but that’s not an issue a gifted Rolex can’t fix.

Click here for the rest of the story.

****And finally, the Cleveland Cavaliers (a day after signing Andrew Bynum) appear to already be taking issue with the big man’s always-hurting knees. An unnamed Cleveland official, according to a report by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal:

“When asked Wednesday which knee was worse, a Cavaliers executive said, “They’re both not good.”

Click here for the rest of the story.

Associated Press

Looks like Andrew Bynum is hobbling to Cleveland.

The oft-injured center, who played not a single game in his only season with the 76ers, reportedly accepted a contract offer from the Cavaliers worth $24 million over two seasons. (ESPN is said to have reported it first, for what that's worth.)

But there are some stipulations with that contract:

• Only $6 million is guaranteed in the first season, with the other $6 million for his first season being linked to incentives.
• The second year on his contract is a team option, meaning the Cavaliers will decide whether Bynum returns for the 2014-15 season.

Bynum, despite more than one attempt to debut for the Sixers, never played a game before deciding in March to undergo surgery on both knees. He made $16.8 million for the 2012-13 season.

(Associated Press)

Andrew Bynum's unceremonious tenure in Philadelphia could be coming to a close soon.

The free agent center received a $24 million, two-year contract offer from the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday, according to Yahoo! Sports. Bynum, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is meeting with the Atlanta Hawks today, to see if he can get a deal from them, as well. Yahoo! is reporting that the deal from the Cavaliers has the second year of the deal as a team option (to protect against a suddenly healed Bynum walking at free agency a year from now) as well as incentives like minutes played, games played and training-camp participation.

Bynum, acquired by the Sixers in a four-team megadeal last summer, never played a game in Philadelphia. He entered training camp with chronically injured knees and underwent season-ending surgery on both joints in March, after several bids to return to the court.

When healthy, Bynum is one of few bigs who can play at his level. The 7-foot, 285-pounder had his best season as a pro in 2011-12 with the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game.

Bynum's agent, David Lee, said recently that his client would not work out for teams looking to give Bynum a contract.

The Sixers have shown little to no interest in re-signing Bynum in free agency, despite new general manager Sam Hinkie's somewhat openness to doing so. At least that's how Hinkie made it sound in May, when he was introduced as the team's GM and president of basketball operations, though it wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement.

“I think of Andrew like the thousands of other young men walking around the world that are unrestricted free agents that have potential to play NBA basketball,” Hinkie said at the time. “He is one of those. I'm duty bound to consider them and look at them. All of them.”

Nearly 11 months ago to the day, Aug. 14, 2012, the Sixers introduced Bynum to fans in an open-to-the-public press conference at the National Constitution Center. There were high hopes that the Sixers, a team that fell one win shy of the 2012 Eastern Conference finals, would get over the hump behind Bynum. But the center never played, citing a host of knee injuries along the way.

In September, Bynum flew to Germany for a non-invasive, plasma-enriching procedure called Orthokine. In October, he had injections of a joint lubrication called Synvisc-One. In November, while rehabbing his right knee, he admitted he injured his left knee while bowling. In December, Bynum was told to ramp up his rehab. In January, he engaged in a workout in front of reporters. In February, in addition to his primary physician, he visited an orthopaedic surgeon in New York. In March, he underwent two knee surgeries.

That's an abbreviated timeline of Bynum's one-year, $16.8 million tenure with the Sixers. For the more-complete look, take a walk down memory lane on the blog.

(Associated Press)

In four words, general manager Tony DiLeo explained why the 76ers stayed (mostly) inactive at Thursday's trade deadline.

“We have Plan A,” DiLeo said Friday, at the team's practice facility.

The Sixers, DiLeo admitted, could have done more to solidify this season's roster. He said he and the front office “talked with every team.” He said they were listening to all inquiries. And the only move with which the Sixers felt comfortable was a minor move with Golden State for guard Charles Jenkins in exchange for a protected second-round draft pick.

The reason? Plan A.

“Plan A is for Andrew,” DiLeo said.
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