Favors believes 76ers could still pick him

At this point, most 76ers fans believe it's unacceptable for the organization to draft anyone other than Ohio State guard Evan Turner with the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft.

But what if the Sixers nabbed Georgia Tech power forward Derrick Favors instead Thursday night?

"I think I do," Favors said of having a realistic chance of being the second pick.

"Whatever team I get picked to, I'm just going to go in and work hard. Try to improve my game. Try to help the team improve and just move on."

The expectation is that the Washington Wizards will use the No. 1 overall pick on John Wall, the Kentucky guard. The 6-foot-7, 210-pound Turner is expected to go second. And most mock drafts have Favors, a 6-10 freshman, going No. 3 to the New Jersey Nets.

However, there are reports that the Nets could trade the No. 3 pick and point guard Devin Harris to the New Orleans Hornets for point guard Chris Paul.

If you're wondering, Nets president Rod Thorn is convinced the Sixers will take Turner - not Favors.

"All of the information I have points to that direction," Thorn told the Star-Ledger of Newark.

But what if the Sixers do take Favors?

The fluid athlete, who doesn't turn 19 until July 15, has a huge upside. There's a belief that, years from now, the freshman may be regarded as the best player in the draft class. Favors agrees.

"If I continue to work hard," he said, "and continue to improve my game and keep my hunger, I think I will."

Despite that, Turner still appears to be a safe pick for a Sixers team in desperate need of a shooting guard.

But ...

"I believe when you pick this high in the draft, you are picking the best player available," Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski said. "You are not looking at need."

With Turner sweeping the Wooden, Oscar Robertson, Associated Press, Naismith and Sporting News awards for national player of the year, some would argue that he is the better player at this stage.

"That's some people's opinion," Stefanski said, maintaining a poker face.

But Favors' 7-foot-4 wingspan, soft touch around the basket, and quick leaping ability have excited NBA general managers and coaches.

He was named the Athletic Coast Conference rookie of the year last season, in addition to being an ACC all-tournament selection. Also, the Sporting News named him to its all-freshman team.

As a senior at South Atlanta High in Atlanta in 2009, Favors was named the most valuable player at both the McDonald's All-American and Jordan Brand Classic games.

New Sixers coach Doug Collins is very familiar with Favors. Chris Collins, Doug's son and the associate head coach at Duke, is a huge Favors fan.

"Being with my son, coaching at Duke, obviously, I saw Georgia Tech a lot," Collins said. "I saw him early in the year. Then I saw him late in the year, and he was a vastly improved player.

"He went from where they didn't have to double-team him to the ACC tournament, sending two or three guys at him to try to slow him down."

Almost guaranteed to become a top-five pick, Favors had workouts with the Sixers, Nets, Minnesota Timberwolves (owners of the fourth, 16th and 23d picks), and Sacramento Kings (fifth pick).

Minnesota said he was out of shape.

"I'm not in game shape," he said in response to Minnesota's claim. "But I'm in enough shape to push through a workout. So I think that was just constructive criticism, just something I need to work on."

Favors said his Sixers workout Friday went well. He competed in one-on-one drills against Kentucky center DeMarcus Cousins, who also figures to be a top-five pick.

"Yeah, they were impressed," Favors said. "They told me I need to work on conditioning. That was pretty much it."

One team questioning a player's conditioning is easy to overlook. Two squads commenting on it could be considered a red flag.

"One workout like this doesn't change their body of work," Collins said. "I don't believe ... one workout necessarily turns your head one way or the other."

Come Thursday night, we'll learn if the Sixers, as expected, take Turner or if Favors' upside was too hard to pass on.