Angelo Cataldi: No end in sight for 76ers lies

Nerlens Noel was impressive in the Orlando Summer League, particularly on the defensive end. Credit: Getty Images

Is there no limit to the audacity of the Sixers? The investment bankers and computer nerds running our basketball team are not just re-defining how to build a winner, they are doing so with an unprecedented contempt for honesty. If teams could be built solely on lies, the Sixers would already be challenging for the NBA championship.

The latest barrage of bull started when owner Joshua Harris held a new conference earlier this month and gushed about the fast-approaching season, when NBA rookie of the year Michael Carter-Williams and equally young Nerlens Noel will bring a “Wow!” factor to the Wells Fargo Center. That was his exact word – “Wow.”

At the time, MCW was recovering from a shoulder operation that originally was supposed to take two to four months for his recovery, but has suddenly become 6-9 months. He will not start the season. It could be months until he’s back.

Noel – whom Harris said “tore up” the NBA Summer league (with a 13-point average) – has not been able to stay healthy for more than a week at a time. He missed two recent preseason games with a cold.

Meanwhile, CEO Scott O’Neill stood in front of a crowd of less than 2,000 at the preseason opener and spoke of the city’s newfound passion for the team. The 18,000 empty seats behind him could not drown out his message of optimism. Has he no shame?

The Sixers will have an awful team this year – probably even worse than the 19-win disaster of last season – and they will draw record-low crowds. The fans know this. Fortunately, they are not as ignorant as the shameless carpetbaggers who run their team.