With the Sixers beginning training camp next week at Duke University, Ed Snider won't be pinned down making predictions.

But the Sixers' chairman said he was comfortable with the direction the franchise was headed in, even though the team was likely to be picked by many to finish last in the five-team Atlantic Division.

Unlike previous seasons, when the Sixers tried to find players who would fit into Allen Iverson's style of play, the Sixers, according to Snider, aren't going for any quick fixes this time.

"We have a three-year plan and we are in the first of it, and no matter what, we will stick to it," Snider said recently.

The plan includes allowing the young players to grow while attempting to attract a premier free agent next season, when the Sixers are expected to be well under the NBA's salary-cap and luxury-tax levels