Sixers start new chapter with No. 2 pick Turner

IT WAS THE PERFECT storm.

Back on May 18 at the NBA draft lottery in Secaucus, N.J., the 76ers rode the lucky winds up from the No. 6 pick to the second spot. Last night, a few hours before their selection was announced, the heavens opened up around the Wachovia Center, producing a severe storm that the likes of South Philly hasn't seen in a while.

It may have been yet another sign from above.

The Sixers held true to what most believed they would do when they selected 6-7 swingman Evan Turner from Ohio State, just moments after the Washington Wizards pegged Kentucky point guard John Wall with the top pick.

A nice gathering of a couple of thousand sat in the lower-level sections and stood on the court at the Wachovia Center as the selection was announced by NBA commissioner David Stern at 7:43 p.m. After Turner's name was read, a roar erupted that hasn't been heard for this team since Allen Iverson returned to Philadelphia last December.

"It's the start of a new era," said guard Jrue Holiday, who most likely will be paired with Turner in the backcourt, perhaps for many years to come.

If there was doubt among fans as to whom the Sixers would take besides Turner, there wasn't among the Sixers brass.

"Unanimous," was the only word president and general manager Ed Stefanski used when asked what was the verdict among the team's higher-ups who had a vote for who should be selected. "We are thrilled that Evan Turner is going to be a 76er. To get a kid like this who not only has a background on the court and off the court, we're very fortunate. He's so mature as a basketball player. The one thing, and I think it's the biggest compliment you can give a player, is he makes his teammates better. This kid is unselfish, he makes good decisions, tries to get people the basketball, he's a good midrange shooter, his defense is good, and he'll have to continually work on it. But we got a guy who is mature and can become a leader on this basketball team."

In New York for the pick, Turner, dressed classily in a gray suit, red tie and Ohio State cuff links (just as he had promised reporters on his visit to Philly), beamed after the selection. Later, in a conference call to Philadelphia, Turner said: "I was definitely excited. This is a great opportunity and a great memory to have. I'm looking forward to everything. I was pretty confident they were selecting me, but you never know."

And now, as Holiday put it, the new era can begin, and Turner is looking forward to it.

"I think it will work out well," he said of pairing with Holiday in the backcourt. "He's a great young player with great talent. I also think I'm a great young player with great talent who loves the game. I think we have a lot of potential and a lot of room to get better and to grow together."

Which is what the Sixers brass is envisioning.

"We just think with Evan we get a young guy who is competitive, who can play multiple positions, who played for a great program," said coach Doug Collins. "The first minute we worked him out we basically knew who we were going to take. Probably the second-best workout we had was [Syracuse's] Wesley Johnson, who played very, very well. But we look at our team now and when we start looking at our perimeter we think we've got size, we think we've got some speed, we think now we can get out and defend, Evan's a very good defender. I feel very, very good about the selection of Evan."

Though Holiday hadn't yet talked to his new teammate, he said it wouldn't be long.

"Probably [last night], when I get his number," said Holiday. "That's what Andre [Iguodala], that's what Thad [Young], that's what all them did to me right after I got picked. I got about four or five texts."

With the addition of Turner, it would appear to most that Lou Williams, who was anointed the starting point guard before last season by then-coach Eddie Jordan, will be headed to a backup role. That very well could be the case, but not without competition, Collins said.

"I sat down [yesterday] and talked with Lou Williams for about an hour about the competition and about the opportunity that still exists for him," Collins said. "I think people now just sort of feel like he's the odd man out. I didn't want him to feel that way so much as people are talking about Jrue and talking about Evan. I want the job to be open and I want whoever takes it to take it. My big question with Lou is, 'If you don't start, can you be part of a terrific three-guard rotation?' If that were to happen, say he didn't start, then he could come in off the bench and be an amazing spark for us. He said he would pretty much be on board with that as long as he was given the opportunity to start."

As Collins has said repeatedly since taking over, competition is a good thing. And the more good players you have, that competition gets better. With Turner, the organization believes that has happened.

"It's a great start to something new," said Holiday. "Something we really needed coming off last year's disappointing season. I think our whole team, coaching staff, even the city, has a lot more confidence. I think we had the pieces last year but we just weren't meshing together well. But something's going our way right now."

Ever since that night in Secaucus. And, by the way, a downpour hit the city on that night, too.

Current Sixers Lou Williams, Thaddeus Young, Jodie Meeks and Marreese Speights also were at the Wachovia Center last night. Speights looks like he has lost a lot of weight, while Young has found some. Young says he has added about 10 pounds of muscle . . . The team will introduce Evan Turner at a 12:30 p.m. press conference today at the Broad Street atrium. The press conference is open to the public.

For more Sixers coverage, read the Daily News' Sixers blog, Sixerville, at

http://go.philly.com/sixerville