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NBA Legend Dominique Wilkins Shares Insight On The Sixers

By Ray Boyd

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Everyone has an opinion on the way the Sixers are doing business. Without a win to their name, as of Thursday, the Sixers stand as the NBA's only team without a victory.

NBA Legend Dominique Wilkins joined WIP Afternoons on Thursday. Wilkins the discussed the Sixers past and present and gave some insight into their current plan.

"Back in the day those Sixers teams were incredible teams," Wilkins described of the team he faced throughout much of the 1980's. "From Dr. J to Moses Malone to Mo Cheeks, Andrew Toney...man that team was crazy. It was a top two team in the East for a long time."

LISTEN: Dominique Wilkins on WIP Afternoons 10/13/2014

The Sixers are now in the process of trying to return to that level of prominence. There are no players on the roster at this time that are sure fire locks to have the impact of the names that Wilkins listed, but the organization is convinced the strategy will lead to those type of players being drafted, nurtured and developed here.

Wilkins shared some insight into the Sixers strategy that many are referring to now as the "double tank."

"The thing for me is, you know you go through a rebuilding stage, but there has to be some point where you got to put pieces in place, particularly veteran guys to go with your young guys," Wilkins said.

"A lot of times you got to manage through experience and you got to push players to be the best that they can be and you can't rely just on young players."

The Sixers appear to be prescribing to the idea that they can. For the second straight campaign the Sixers are the NBA's youngest team and they seem content on keeping a roster filled with young players that can go through wars together and hopefully all reach their potential around the same time.

For all those who worry about the team now being filled with 21, 22, and 23 year-olds, imagine what the roster and talent level might be like when they all reach 25,26 and 27.

Wilkins realized that reality and noted that the team will have to remain intact for that to occur. "Hopefully they can stay together over a period of time where they get chemistry and they get used to playing with one another and they can learn how to win."

Fans of the franchise have become quite accustomed to the perpetual cycle of mediocrity that trapped the Sixers for most of the last decade. First and second round playoff exits do not bode well for your draft status and they also are farther away from actual championship contention than one might think.

The middle of the pack might be a worst place to be in the NBA than in any other sport.

Wilkins is not convinced that being stuck in the middle is really all that ominous.

"Getting to the playoffs and being in the playoffs is the goal," Wilkins said. "Anything can happen in the playoffs so even though you go to the playoffs and you don't have a super team, but the fact that you're making the playoffs and you can still make noise is enough where you can disappoint and surprise some people."

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