GALLOWAY, N.J. -- Sixers managing owner Josh Harris annually attends a day of training camp and this year he showed up Friday.
Harris could be seen talking to head coach Brett Brown and first-round pick Joel Embiid at the conclusion of practice, two important people when it comes to the future success of his franchise.
The future is exactly where the organization’s focus remains. With 19 wins a season ago and an offseason full of inexperienced and inexpensive additions, Harris is still not deterred from the ultimate goal.
"Philly is tired of being mediocre," Harris said. "The last NBA championship team was obviously in 1983. Then you had the Allen Iverson championship run, but that was over a decade ago. I think Philly wants a team that is competing for an NBA championship.
"We have told everyone there are 29 other owners that want the same for their city, and we have explained our strategy clearly to Philly, and I feel like it is 90 percent positive."
The 29 other NBA owners may want the same thing Harris wants, but the method of achieving that goal is very different.
At the league meetings this past July, there was a strong push from the owners for draft lottery reform as early as next June.
NBA
The Sixers, who have two first-round picks in 2015, object to the lottery system changing.
"We are advocating positions that benefit the Philadelphia market and the Philadelphia 76ers," Harris said. "That is what we should be doing. Other people are advocating their market, and it is the league's job to sort through how to best build consensus around those different positions."
Harris chose his words carefully because the Sixers' plan has touched a nerve with a number of his peers across the league.
"Being a good citizen in the NBA is an important thing for us," Harris said. "We are cognizant of being a good member of the league. At the same time, we are balancing that against what is the right thing for the Philadelphia 76ers. We are trying to draw that line as best we can.
"You are competing, so there is always going to be different views on different strategies teams are taking. We certainly factor that into our thinking, but at the end of the day we try to take in the whole picture and do what is right for Philly."
Harris believes even if the system changes as early as 2015, the league will make the changes incremental and, therefore, the impact won't be too great.
"A change would certainly flatten the lottery system," Harris said. "It would be a little bit worse for Philadelphia in the short run, but long run, since we expect to be a deep playoff-caliber team, it is actually better for us."