Adam Silver is fine with teams rebuilding in a way similar to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 76ers finished with a 19-63 record and lost 26 straight games at one point. But owner Josh Harris described the season as a "huge success for us."

"I think what Josh was saying was in the context of building a championship team and a championship organization in Philadelphia," Silver said Thursday as he spoke to the Associated Press Sports Editors. "He saw it as a success in a continuum."

Silver is concerned with the perception fans have of the process.

"Yes, it's a concern from a perception point, which is why I responded on several occasions to say that at least the way that I've always understood, tanking is the intentional losing of games either by the coach or players," Silver said. "What is going on is legitimate rebuilding of franchises. The fact that fans may see it another way is very [much a] concern to me."

In the NBA, one of the ways to rebuild is by accumulating several high draft picks in a row.

"Teams have to make their own strategic decisions," Silver said. "That's not something we are looking to legislate from the league. The jury is out from a strategic standpoint whether that's the right way to build a championship team in the first place."

The Philadelphia 76ers won just 19 games this season while stripping its roster in the process.

"I think the season has been a huge success for us," Harris said Friday. "Obviously, I don't like to lose. In terms of having to live through a losing season, it's tough. It was incredibly fun to take down the Bulls [in the first round of the 2012 playoffs] my first year, when we were seeded eighth and they were seeded first.

"And I want to be back in the playoffs, and I want this team competing for the championship," Harris said. "And that's kind of what we're trying to do, but obviously to do that, to get to that point where you're an elite team for a long period of time, there's no shortcuts. We came into the season knowing that it would be a long season, that we were going to be putting building blocks in place."

When asked about tanking the season, Harris said, "we don't use that word."

"We played every game to win, and this is where we finished," he said. "It's a very deep draft. I think we're in great shape. … We don't want to be 41-41. We don't want to be one-and-done [in the playoffs]. That's not what we want as an ownership group. We want this city to be proud of the Sixers. And we want to be proud of the Sixers. And we want this to be an elite team that's competing year-in and year-out for a championship. And we looked at our ability to do that, having finished with 35 wins [in the 2011-12 season and 34 wins in 2012-13], and we said, 'It's a long road without a rebuilding process.' That's what led us to the current process."

Thaddeus Young admitted Thursday that he will look at all his options -- including being open to parting with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Young also figures he holds some leverage due to the fact that he could opt out of his contract and become a free agent after next season.

"I do have the opt-out and that's one of the cards that can be played if the situation is not right," Young said. "I can opt out next year. I can ask to be traded. Or I can say, 'I'm all for it. I want to stick around.' I just have to see how things are going to play out."

The 76ers dangled Young in trade discussions before the deadline.

"We were all being shopped," Young said. "I think it's a big thing they kept me, of course, even though it was one of those situations where you feel a little left out."

The San Antonio Spurs finished the 13-14 regular season with the best efficiency differential in the NBA with a mark of +8.1. The Spurs scored 110.5 points per 100 possession while allowing 102.4 points per 100 possessions.

The Los Angeles Clippers ranked second, followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors. 

The Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns round out the top-10.

Click here for the full list.

Casper Ware signed a contract with the Philadelphia 76ers that will cover the remainder of the season.

Ware's second 10-day deal expired on Sunday. He said he is still trying to work out a deal for the future.

"I just want to finish up strong and try to work out something for the long term," Ware said. "I had a meeting with [general manager] Sam [Hinkie] this morning. All [day], I was, like, 'Dang, when am I going to get the call?' It ended up good, so I'm happy about that."

The Miami Heat were offered Evan Turner in a trade by the Philadelphia 76ers ahead of the deadline with Udonis Haslem being the only significant piece they would have had to send in return.

The Heat didn't make the trade, at least in part because they didn't like how it would look to deal one of the club's longest tenured players.

The Indiana Pacers, however, traded Danny Granger to the 76ers for Turner.

Haslem has twice given up in excess of $10 million to remain with the Heat.

Brett Brown was introduced to basketball analytics this season as the Philadelphia 76ers become a franchise that bases major decisions on data and model-drive analysis.

"There's always the thing that they call unintended consequences," said Brown. "That's where my curiosity combined with, yeah, you know, there's a bit of defiance in me that I don't believe it. Prove it. And what about this? What about that?

"And if you can get through all those type of layers, I say, 'Wow.' And I feel like I've improved."

Lance Pearson was hired by the 76ers to work on advanced analytics and statistical scouting. Pearson, 53, has a Ph.D. in computational neuroscience from Boston University.

"I have a guy in my meetings that I've just fallen in love with," Browns said of Pearson. "I have a bunch of assistant coaches, and I've got a gentleman with about four degrees that is incredibly impressive when you say, 'What's your background?' And he rolls off all of this followed by his doctorate.

"In my meeting, I say . . . 'Who's the best in the league in this? What does this mean? We are number one in the league in pace. Is that a kick-ahead three-ball?' "

Brown has enjoyed incorporating the analytics into his assessment of the game.

"The analytics side has really captured my imagination and will factor into a lot with this upcoming draft," Brown said. "I'm going to see a different side than I probably will ever know when we start . . . assessing people."

Nerlens Noel spoke to reporters for the first time since the end of September.

Noel hasn't played a competitive game since tearing his ACL in March of last year while a freshman at Kentucky.

"I am very encouraged," Noel said after practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. "Through the past year since I had my injury, I have pushed myself through thick and thin and I had some struggles and I just stayed with it."

Noel continues to be limited in practice.

"I worked my butt of to get where I am at now and definitely feel confident I am at my best point and have increased my vertical leap," he said. "And I am just building up my body though this past year."

Noel was hoping to be cleared in time to play in his hometown of Boston on April 4th, but he will miss the entire season.

The Philadelphia 76ers have signed Adonis Thomas to a 10-day contract.

The 76ers had room on its 15-man roster after James Nunnally’s second 10-day deal expired Saturday night.

Thomas has had two 10-day stints with the Orlando Magic this season.

With the expiration of his second successive 10-day contract, the Philadelphia 76ers won’t sign wing shooter James Nunnally for the remainder of the season, league sources told RealGM.

The 76ers have used the end of their roster for auditioning, and Nunnally averaged three points and shot 33.3 percent from three-point range in nine games. He scored eight points in 21 minutes in his second appearance on March 19.

Nunnally had also earned two 10-day deals with the Atlanta Hawks in January.

Nunnally had enjoyed his time with the 76ers, and now his agent, Bill Neff, will try to find with a more structured offensive system to better utilize Nunnally. Brett Brown has done a remarkable job to stabilize a culture around the 76ers, whose ball movement has increasingly dissipated as the season’s progressed.

Undrafted in 2012, Nunnally excelled in Summer League a season ago and has used the NBA Development League to earn two call-ups. He has averaged 18.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 35 games this season with the Texas Legends and Bakersfield Jam.