Charles Barkley has jumped on the Sixers bandwagon - the one that expects their win total to be in the teens.
In an interview with SI, Barkley gave his thoughts on where the Sixers stand heading into the season.
"Well, sitting [Nerlens] Noel for the season is probably the smart move," Barkley said. "The over-under was 21 [wins]. I'm taking the under now. If Noel was playing, I would have taken the over. But I think it's a smart move because [Noel] is not physically or offensively ready to play in the NBA."
The actual Vegas odds from Pregame.com have the Sixers' over/under for wins on the year at 17, so it's unclear whether Barkley would still take the under in that case, but regardless, his outlook appears to be as bleak as the general public's view.
As for his take on the presumed No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA draft, Kansas's Andrew Wiggins, Barkley needs to see him play in college before forming an opinion.
"First of all, no. Why would I watch a high school player? That's stupid," Barkley said. "I've heard all the stuff. OK, he's a great high school player. Let me see what happens when he gets to college. When people ask me who will be the Rookie of the Year, I say, 'I don't know.' The guys have played against college players. Nobody expected Damian Lillard to win Rookie of the Year. I will watch the Wiggins kid play when I start watching college basketball. I am not going to project how great he will be. I mean, Kwame Brown was a great high school player."
Though Barkley may not be sold, it appears that many teams, including the Sixers, are all-in on Wiggins. While finishing last only gives a team a 25 percent chance at obtaining the first pick, Wiggins is worth taking that risk. And for a draft class that is expected to be packed, any player in the top five will have a shot at changing a team's fortunes.
NBA
Teams are tanking, and some GMs aren't even afraid to say it.
One anonymous GM told ESPN's Jeff Goodman outright, "Our team isn't good enough to win and we know it. So this season we want to develop and evaluate our young players, let them learn from their mistakes -- and get us in position to grab a great player."
This GM points out the Sixers as a prime example of tanking.
"We're not alone," the GM said. "Look at the 76ers. Since the draft in June, I don't think they've signed a player or made a trade to add a legitimate player."
So as the NBA season begins tonight, the race to the bottom is on. And for the first time in a while, a Philadelphia team has a chance at coming out on top ... sort of.