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Second-round pickups look to help Sixers

As the 76ers' leading scorer in the NBA Summer League, Jordan McRae showed why he's a legitimate steal in last month's NBA draft.

The 76ers' K.J. McDaniels, Jordan McRae and Jerami Grant. (Tom Gralish/Staff Photographer)
The 76ers' K.J. McDaniels, Jordan McRae and Jerami Grant. (Tom Gralish/Staff Photographer)Read more

As the 76ers' leading scorer in the NBA Summer League, Jordan McRae showed why he's a legitimate steal in last month's NBA draft.

Meanwhile, KJ McDaniels and Jerami Grant displayed in both the NBA and Orlando summer leagues why the Sixers were shocked they slipped to them in the second round.

Long, athletic and defensive minded, the trio fits perfectly into what general manager Sam Hinkie is trying to build in Philadelphia.

The Sixers want to play at a fast place. Yet, they don't want to rank last in the league in points scored against (109.9 points per game) for the second consecutive season.

"I definitely feel like I can play in this league," said McRae, a 6-foot-6, 190-pound guard/forward out of Tennessee. "Just getting a chance to play against guys like [Bulls] Tony Snell, Doug McDermott, it was just playing hard against them and see where I stack up."

McRae was selected 58th overall by the Spurs and traded to the Sixers on draft night.

He averaged 21 points a game in Las Vegas, which was more than top picks Andrew Wiggins (first overall), Jabari Parker (second), Dante Exum (fifth), Julius Randle (seventh), Nick Stauskas (eighth), Noah Vonleh (ninth) and McDermott (11th).

The second-team all-summer league selection also thrived on the defensive end, finishing seven steals and three blocks in four games.

Meanwhile, McDaniels has drawn some comparisons to former Sixer Andre Iguodala for his stellar defense and athleticism.

The 6-6, 200-pound guard/forward blocked seven shots, averaged 9.6 points in a combined six games in both summer leagues. He and McRae took turns at shutting down McDermott. The 6-8 forward, who averaged 20.3 points and shot 48 percent on three-pointers in his other three summer-league games, was held to 11 points on 3-for-10 shooting.

Grant had the biggest learning curve of the three. He bounced back and forth from the wing and power forward positions during his combined 11 games played in both summer leagues. Grant averaged 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds while totaling eight blocks and six steals.

"I think I did OK," said the 6-8 Grant. "I definitely didn't play at the capability I can. They were trying a bunch of different things, playing me at a bunch of different positions just to see what I can do. It's definitely different. But I could have played a lot better."

Turner to Celtics

Former Sixer Evan Turner will sign a free-agent deal with the Celtics, according to the Boston Herald.

The second overall pick in 2010 averaged a career-best 17.4 points last season for the Sixers before being traded to the Pacers in February. He struggled in Indiana and was out of the rotation in the playoffs.