Things Have Just Gotten Even More Interesting

[Kurosawa]

Two events Thursday have made things even more interesting, if that's possible:

1. The Sixers-Kings trade, in the minds of some observers, makes it more likely that Philadelphia will draft Favors and not Turner in order to have some semblance of defensive presence down low. Not sure I buy that, but it's an interesting point of view--certainly within the realm of possibility.

2. At Favors' workout today, Kahn reportedly told those gathered that Turner is most effective with the ball in his hands and in a half-court offense. With Rubio--the guy who will have the ball in his hands when he comes, likely in 2011--and with Kahn-Rambis ostensibly committed to an uptempo offense, Kahn openly raised the question of whether Turner would be the best fit. Smokescreen? Perhaps; even probably. But an interesting observation.

Couple those with some additional considerations:

--Wes Johnson, with his athleticism and an outside shot that's clearly superior to Turner's, would be the ideal fit. Yeh, he'll be 23 next month, but I don't hear anyone complaining now about Al Horford, who turned 24 his rookie season.

--The Nets reportedly like Wes Johnson a lot. Based on value alone, they'll almost certainly take Turner if he's there at 3, but I'd bet they'd trade him to the Wolves for the fourth pick (Johnson) and 16.

No conclusion...just some grist for the mill.

[AQuintus]

RE: Nets, I talked to Avery yesterday. Sounds like he is high on Cousins but a) Thorn making the call and b) decent chance they trade pick

This is from Chris Mannix' twitter.

[karch34]

I heard that part about Turner too. Wouldn't be surprised if it was a smokescreen or just advanced spin doctoring should we not get Turner.

Turner was asked to do a lot for OSU and had the ball in his hands a lot, but I don't think that necessarily means he has to have it in his hands to be effective.

[horaceworthy]

--Wes Johnson, with his athleticism and an outside shot that's clearly superior to Turner's, would be the ideal fit. Yeh, he'll be 23 next month, but I don't hear anyone complaining now about Al Horford, who turned 24 his rookie season.

Al Horford turned 24 two weeks ago. You're probably thinking of Al Thornton, a guy plenty of people have complained about.

[prefuse73]

I too have my doubts about a Rubio/Turner back court.

[rpa]

I don't see how the Kings/Sixers trade affects anything. It's not like Dalembert was a longterm piece for the Sixers and it's pretty insane to think that a team picking up Nocioni should affect who they take w/ the 2nd pick of the draft.

[Mr Dew]

I too have my doubts about a Rubio/Turner back court.

Now I'm worried. lol

[horaceworthy]

I heard that part about Turner too. Wouldn't be surprised if it was a smokescreen or just advanced spin doctoring should we not get Turner.

Turner was asked to do a lot for OSU and had the ball in his hands a lot, but I don't think that necessarily means he has to have it in his hands to be effective.

Wouldn't the point of acquiring Turner be because we need someone who can create with the ball in his hands? The need for that type of player on the wing will still be there if/when Rubio arrives.

[Dewey]

I heard that part about Turner too. Wouldn't be surprised if it was a smokescreen or just advanced spin doctoring should we not get Turner.

Turner was asked to do a lot for OSU and had the ball in his hands a lot, but I don't think that necessarily means he has to have it in his hands to be effective.

He did comment in his interview that he plays best with the ball in his hands ... same thing Wall said.

[AQuintus]

I don't see how the Kings/Sixers trade affects anything. It's not like Dalembert was a longterm piece for the Sixers and it's pretty insane to think that a team picking up Nocioni should affect who they take w/ the 2nd pick of the draft.

I don't think so, either. According to DE, the trade has been talked about since January, and the 76ers have been talking up Turner to their fans since the draft lottery regardless.

[The J Rocka]

I don't see how the Kings/Sixers trade affects anything. It's not like Dalembert was a longterm piece for the Sixers and it's pretty insane to think that a team picking up Nocioni should affect who they take w/ the 2nd pick of the draft.

Well from day one most of us knew that the Sixers have no bigs to build their franchise around. With this trade they now have a logjam in the back-court. Now Im almost sure that PHI isn't done making moves but even with Turner on that team, they still will have too much. I don't see Hawes as a franchise Center, great big off the bench, but not the answer. They aren't gonna go anywhere with Brand, Speights is a talented big but again a great bench player. Cousins or Favors makes SO MUCH more sense. Turner & Iggy for some reason I just don't see that working out so well. Now if they decide to trade Iggy, I don't expect equal value in return. They aren't gonna get a dominant big for him. They are better off rolling the dice on Cousins or Favors who have what it takes to be stars in this league.

[horaceworthy]

Well from day one most of us knew that the Sixers have no bigs to build their franchise around. With this trade they now have a logjam in the back-court

How do Nocioni and Hawes cause a logjam in the backcourt?

[Kurosawa]

Yeh, confused Horford with Thornton. My bad.

[The J Rocka]

Well from day one most of us knew that the Sixers have no bigs to build their franchise around. With this trade they now have a logjam in the back-court

How do Nocioni and Hawes cause a logjam in the backcourt?

Noci, Thad, Iggy, Kapono, Green, Lou, then add Turner. Tell me who plays at C and PF?

[rpa]

Well from day one most of us knew that the Sixers have no bigs to build their franchise around. With this trade they now have a logjam in the back-court. Now Im almost sure that PHI isn't done making moves but even with Turner on that team, they still will have too much. I don't see Hawes as a franchise Center, great big off the bench, but not the answer. They aren't gonna go anywhere with Brand, Speights is a talented big but again a great bench player. Cousins or Favors makes SO MUCH more sense. Turner & Iggy for some reason I just don't see that working out so well. Now if they decide to trade Iggy, I don't expect equal value in return. They aren't gonna get a dominant big for him. They are better off rolling the dice on Cousins or Favors who have what it takes to be stars in this league.

Again, I don't see how trading a backup/borderline starting big man for a backup big and a backup SF (who won't be in their future plans) affects this. 3 hours ago there was almost NO QUESTION that Philly takes Turner with their pick. To say that there IS a question now means that picking up Nocioni (and/or Hawes) has an affect. To me, that's ludicrous. Neither 1 of those guys is anywhere near good enough to determine the direction that a team should go in. It would be like us (Kings) trading Udrih to Washington and then people saying "they got their PG, no need to draft Wall anymore".

All Philly did was find a way to get under the tax this year (or at the very least closer to getting under it) while getting a young guy that they MIGHT keep longterm. It's a 'side' move, not a front-and-center move. And in no way should it change a front-and-center move.

[horaceworthy]

Well from day one most of us knew that the Sixers have no bigs to build their franchise around. With this trade they now have a logjam in the back-court

How do Nocioni and Hawes cause a logjam in the backcourt?

Noci, Thad, Iggy, Kapono, Green, Lou, then add Turner. Tell me who plays at C and PF?

Noc is a SF/PF who seems pretty washed up at this point, Thad is a combo forward many think is best utilized at PF, Iggy is seen by many as best off at SF. Kapono and Green shouldn't figure into the equation, Williams will likely be the spark off the bench, and Holiday will handle PG duties with Turner at SG.

Speights, Hawes, Young, Brand, Jason Smith and sometimes Nocioni will likely be the favorites to hold down the fort at PF/C while Iggy gets most of his minutes at SF and Turner/Holiday/Williams get the lion's share of the backcourt minutes.

This trade has no impact on Philly's backcourt situation.

[dunkonu21]

No one is saying that Noc and Hawes changes their opinion. Only thing people are saying is it could show us how they were leaning before the deal happened. You should think about it a little more, if Phi liked Favors more than Turner then they might need to make some deals to get their roster balanced enough to draft the guy they like. It also works vice-versa if they liek Turner more.

[Worm Guts]

I don't see how acquiring a 5 and a 3/4 is an indication they want to take a 4 over a 2.

[TrentTuckerForever]

I don't see how acquiring a 5 and a 3/4 is an indication they want to take a 4 over a 2.

I didn't take enough college math to figure that one out.

But I do think it may indicate Philly is at least considering Favors. Look at what the Magic did with Dwight Howard - he started from day 1 at the 4 spot, then eventually gravitated toward the 5. Favors is very young, like Howard was, tons of athletic potential but raw. I don't think it's a stretch to say a young high-post center like Hawes would fit better with Favors than a veteran shot-blocker like Dalembert.

[Krapinsky]

--Wes Johnson, with his athleticism and an outside shot that's clearly superior to Turner's, would be the ideal fit. Yeh, he'll be 23 next month, but I don't hear anyone complaining now about Al Horford, who turned 24 his rookie season.

Al Horford turned 24 two weeks ago. You're probably thinking of Al Thornton, a guy plenty of people have complained about.

I lol'ed