Player Profile: Evan Turner

Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

So, Evan Turner is an interesting story. We all know the story. In a somewhat miracle lottery, Sixers land the second pick for the WTF 2010 draft (Wall, Turner, Favors). Sixers indeed take Turner. Some are like “Too similar to Iguodala” and others are all like, “He’s a perfect fit.”

And then Turner starts playing and slowly more and more people are like “BUST!” while a few folks are “He still needs time. He’s playing behind Iguodala. His coach is crazy”. But, Turner is about to enter his fourth year with the only real improvement being his 3 point shooting.

This season, Turner will have the chance to run the show. Like, really. He’s shown he’s able to play PG a little bit. The Sixers’ offense this preseason has looked different that what we’ve seen from Doug Collins. And, I would think Turner would be able to fit in better with this system.

Is this the breakout year? There’s no indication from his career to suggest this. However, all of the possible excuses for why he hasn’t become a star or even close to a star are gone. The Sixers are looking for the core to build around. Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams are a couple of guys. And whoever they grab in the 2014 draft would probably be the centerpiece.

Since this is Turner’s last year on his rookie contract, not only is he playing for improved status on a team and to avoid being a bust, but he’s trying to get a raise. He has a lot on the line so I would imagine he’ll be trying to prove himself.

Will he over do it? We’ve seen, especially last season, how he would force a lot of bad shots. It’s true that you should keep shooting to get out of a slump. But, how long before you have to say, “He’s just not good enough”? Yes, he improved his shooting last year so there’s reason to be optimistic. And also, he’s a really good rebounder for his position and can create for his teammates when he’s not forcing bad shots and going all Lou Williams on the team.

So, it’s prediction time.

Let’s pretend that the Sixers are not trying to lose. I say that because if Turner were to all of a sudden become the star we wanted when we drafted him, then people would probably be pissed. I know I’ll be saying something along the lines of, “Of all times to show up, you wanna play when we’re trying to lose?” If Turner does explode, and if this explosion grabs the Sixers a few wins, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Turner be traded. Even Turner was expecting to be traded during the offseason. And if Turner doesn’t play all that well, the Sixers will probably keep him for the season but may let him walk in the offseason.

Either way, I actually feel like this is Turner’s last season on the team. Same for Thad Young.

Still, Turner will have some sort of break out year. He probably won’t become a star. However, with such a  weak team, I would imagine Turner’s points and rebounds to be career highs. Hey, you know I gotta be right on the rebounds. Sixers are going to be missing a lot. It’s a chance to work on the offensive rebounding game. Then again, the Sixers’ defense will not be that good so I would imagine defensive rebounds go down. And, with most of the team not equipped with scorers, Turner will probably take on that load too.

So, what do you think? Hit those comments and tell me what you expect from Turner. What will the Sixers do with him as the season progresses (regresses?)? And, for the love of my scalp, what are your thoughts on his new haircut?