John Smallwood: Sixers fans looking for a reason to party at NBA draft

NEW YORK - Do you remember the 2006 NBA draft?

In an effort to appease hissed-off season ticketholders, the 76rs decided to have a party for fans at the Wachovia Center, even though they had only the 13th overall pick in an extremely suspect draft.

It was lightly attended, but when NBA commissioner David Stern announced, via the television scoreboard, the Sixers had picked Thabo Sefolosha, a guard from Switzerland, the boos that resonated made the building sound like a full house.

The disappointed crowd was only slightly appeased when a little later, the Sixers announced they had traded the rights to Sefolosha to the Chicago Bulls for the rights to University of Memphis forward Rodney Carney, a second-round pick and cash.

Then there was the 1998 draft party.

Sixers fans in the Wachovia Center were stunned giddy as Kansas forward Paul Pierce mysteriously slipped down the draft to Sixers' spot at No. 8 overall. The building buzzed as fans anticipated adding Pierce to a team that featured Allen Iverson, the No. 1 overall selection in 1996.

At first, there was stunned silence as fans heard Stern instead call the name of Saint Louis point guard Larry Hughes.

That quickly turned to vocal anger (not all printable in a family newspaper) as the crowd realized the Sixers had ruined a dream pairing that could have guided the franchise for more than a decade.

The convoluted logic surrounding the choice festers to this day, as Hughes was never able to mesh with Iverson in the backcourt, and Pierce, who finally got picked 10th, has had a Hall of Fame career in Boston that includes an NBA championship.

I wasn't in Philadelphia for the infamous 1989 draft when the Sixers picked Louisville swingman Kenny Payne, but I've heard the story about the boos.

So here we go again.

Starting at 4 p.m. today, Sixers fans are invited to the Wachovia Center for a draft party. This is all in anticipation of the team having the No. 2 overall pick in tonight's draft.

If the Sixers mess up what the vast majority of their fans think is a move a village idiot could make, the potential explosion of anger could become legendary.

Ohio State's Evan Turner, the consensus National Player of the Year, is the player most Sixers fans want.

In a Philly.com poll that got more than 8,000 hits, nearly 77 percent of the people voted for Turner as the Sixers' pick.

This is one of those times when the Sixers should remember that the NBA is also a business. Don't overthink this. Don't get cute. Don't be creative.

Sometimes, the best move is simply to give the people what they want, especially when it also passes the entire basketball logic test.

Virtually everyone who shows up at the arena will know Turner is the best player available and will fill a desperate need for the Sixers. They'll know exactly what they are showing up to witness.

Just give them what they want.

"I visited Philadelphia last week, and, going around town, I could feel the excitement a little bit," Turner said yesterday during the NBA's media session for the prospects invited to be in New York for the draft. "It was pretty cool.

"It always feels great to be wanted, and if I am fortunate enough to be drafted by Philadelphia, I was want to continue to keep making the fans happy."

Maybe it's the knowledge that his going to the Sixers seems as certain as Kentucky guard John Wall's going first to the Washington Wizards, but Turner was surprisingly relaxed just a day before the draft.

He was so comfortable, he was chastised by an overzealous NBA staff member for starting his media session a few minutes early - actually, it probably was because Turner had sat in the wrong seat, one without an NBA logo on the backdrop behind him.

"Must be a New Yorker," Turner joked after the staff person left and he continued taking questions. "It's very exciting. I'm definitely ready to get to [tonight], feel the experience and get to my career.

"I'm definitely ready for that."

Turner worked out only for the Sixers. He declined to work out for the Wizards, because, even though personal pride makes him want to be the first pick, he understands the process and the situation.

"Different teams have different needs and desires," Turner said. "Washington has to do what they think is best for them.

"I definitely want to go to Philadelphia, for sure. It's the right place for me."

And if, by some quirk of fate, he is not chosen by the Sixers, Turner conceded: "I'd be pretty shocked. But that's not in my control. I've done everything I could do in college and in my workout in Philadelphia."

What Turner knows for sure is that he will be a high draft pick, and when that happens he just wants to make sure he adheres to protocol.

"I just hope I don't cry and I hope I don't trip," he said. "This is a dream come true. I've talked [to previous draft picks], and they told me just enjoy the moment, because it goes by so quickly. You're only out there for 2 minutes, and then it's all over."

Stuff will be just starting in Philadelphia if Turner does not become a Sixer. *

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