Julius Eriving

Yikes, no one wants to be called “damaged goods” esp. from an NBA legend. Yesterday Dr. J spoke with reporters about a number of topics at Xfinity Live in South Philadelphia for a private screening of a new documentary about him.
Report after the jump…

GameTimeGirl

 

Via USAToday:

Julius Erving said the Los Angeles Lakers traded the Philadelphia 76ers “damaged goods” in Andrew Bynum, called analytics “turning basketball into rocket science” and predicted the San Antonio Spurs would defeat the Miami Heat for the NBA championship while speaking Wednesday at Xfinity Live in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.

Erving spoke before a special premiere of “The Doctor,” a documentary produced by NBA TV on the life of the Hall of Famer and former 76ers great, who helped lead Philadelphia to a sweep of the Lakers in the 1983 NBA Finals, the organization’s most recent title. He also helped the Sixers reach the finals in 1977, ’80, and ’82.

The 90-minute movie, narrated by Public Enemy’s Chuck D, will air at 9 p.m. June 10 on NBA TV.

Erving, 63, who had yet to see the film in its entirety, said he can still dunk. He said that while he’s primarily known as a 76er and is cognizant of and humbled by his legacy, today’s NBA players are known more as mercenaries and that now basketball fans tend to follow players more than teams. He illustrated his point by saying that one of his sons’ favorite players is LeBron James, while another son’s favorite is Derrick Rose – and that if Rose joined the Sixers, his son would still like the point guard but wouldn’t be a Sixers fan.

Erving also said he only disliked two players over the course of his career – Bernard King and Adrian Dantley.

His memoirs are due to come out in November.

(Story Continues…)

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Exact quote Via Philly.com:

“I think that the ownership group has an agenda set for winning,” Erving said. “What happened to us last year with getting damaged goods [in center Andrew Bynum], hopefully it will only happen once. That’s the extent of that learning curve. Hopefully, we can be a contender under this ownership group . . . They have a commitment to Philadelphia and I think they’ll fulfill it.”