Sixers Exercise Option on Evan Turner

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they exercised the fourth-year option on swingman Evan Turner.

With Andre Iguodala now in Denver, Turner is entering a pivotal third season and while I am surprised that the Sixers jumped right in and gave Turner the assurance of a fourth year.

I have been very critical of the pick of Turner, on-air I am sure you have heard me say I would have much rather selected DeMarcus Cousins with the second pick of that draft.  While Turner hasn't been a total bust, he had not given you the all-star caliber play that a franchise would hope to get from the second pick in the draft.

One of the biggest issues with Turner is that he really doesn't have a NBA position.  He isn't quite athletic enough to be a NBA two guard and he isn't big enough to be a true NBA three; although we will see how he fares in that role this season with Iguodala now longer here.

I have always longed to see Turner play point guard in the NBA a role, in his short time in the league, I feel his best attribute is his ability to distribute, rather then shoot the ball - where is mid-range game still needs work.  At 6-foot-7 Turner would present problems for opposing point guards, but the Sixers are not in position to put him in that role with Jrue Holiday here.

If the Sixers had the second pick in the draft again would they still take Turner?  With hindsight being 20/20, probably not, but they are willing to move forward with him for another year.

More on Turner:

Turner (6-7, 220) was originally the second overall pick by the Sixers in the 2010 NBA draft.  As a junior at Ohio State, he became the first Division I player to average at least 20 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists in a single season since Oscar Robertson did so in back-to-back seasons in 1958-59 and 1959-60.

In 143 career games with 34 starts for the Sixers, Turner has averaged 8.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists.  As a starter last season, he averaged 12.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists.  Turner led all NBA guards in total rebounds in 2011-12.