Sixers Sign Turner
The 76ers have signed first-round draft choice Evan Turner.
Sixers Sign Turner
This comes as no great surprise, but the 76ers have signed first-round draft choice Evan Turner.
Turner, a guard from Ohio State, was the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA draft in June.
By the rules of the collective bargaining agreement, his contract includes two guaranteed seasons plus two option years.
Turner, who won several national awards as Player Of The Year, led the Big 10 in scoring with 20.4 points per game and in rebounding with 9.2 per game. He was the first Division I player to average at least 20 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists in a single season since Oscar Robertson in back-to-back seasons with Cincinnati in 1958-59 and '59-60.
Turner was not particularly impressive in five games in the recent Orlando summer league, but the Sixers attributed that to rustiness and being a little out of shape. He had not played competitive five-on-five basketball since leaving college, mostly because his representatives wanted to be cautious before the draft.
sounds promising.......not. Another tweener but this time he isn't athletic.....just "basketball smart"....good grief.— pheatt- Turner and Holiday are going to be an elite backcourt in this league.— phils11
- wow, can we get wade and lebron— bgwille
- i watched the orlando summer league games.and he was outta shape,he needs to get it together.booadelphians won't stand for their 1st round pick to come in rusty.and i still insist that ownership (yawn) dump that fraud gm.fire stiffanski now!— t_darb_56
- Irrelevant team. Behind the Heat, Magic, Celtics, Bucks, Hawks, Bobcats...and thats just in the east.— JonKap
- He is going to be another piece to the puzzle... why the tweener comment? He has size and can play multiple positions, not a bad attribute— BBAX
Comment removed.- Turner is going to be a bust...just like Iggy.... he's a point guard not a shooting guard. If he pan's out I will be surprised. I thought the sixers would trade down....— mbutley
- It's impossible to feel good about Turner's prospects after those summer league games. He wasn't THAT out of shape. I'll give him this much: he's a very good ball handler and rebounder (for his position). However, he is not the shooter you need in the NBA at SG. The Sixers can only hope that he can slash to the hoop for some decent offense or, yes, he'll be a bust.— ml307n
- someone get Vinny_Fumo his meds!!!— sima_down_nah
drafting turner has pushed lou and willie out of the door. Stefanski will not allow lou and willie to stay in town and push turner out of the rotation. Because if he does...??! THATS EXACTLY WHAT WILL HAPPEN!!! Would be nice to have a 6'5" pg though... lou brand and 2 number 1's for damp and captain jack...— combocancer1975
combocancer: don't the sixers already have a 6'4'' PG named Jrue?— Leegles- Well so far Turner is looking like a bust in summer camp. Those two option years may never be picked up by the Sixers. Maybe the Sixers should trade their whole team and focus on putting good team on the court in 6 years when a team other than the Heat will have a chance. The NBA will be an after thought for most cities for the next 6 years.— LGbalsac
- mbutley.......how is Iggy a bust?????? He was the ninth pick in the draft. I think they got way more then they could have hoped for picking in that spot— MrSmithTP
LGbalsac makes a good point. There's a high probability that the Heat will win the NBA east for the next five years, which means the Sixers should be trying to unload anyone on their roster who is over 25 years old.
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
