We took the best player available. Let's hope that lucky ball from Heaven that mysteriously handed the Philadelphia 76ers the #2 overall pick pays off. As long as Derrick Favors doesn't turn out to be Dwight Howard*, we should be extremely happy to have Evan Turner on this team. 

*superman dunk = g.o.a.t.

[By TWW friend Eric]

We’re less than a week away from the draft, so now is as good a time as any to take a step back, put together some lucid thoughts and discuss what we should expect on draft night.

There are basically three scenarios that could play out:

1. Draft Evan Turner (97% going to happen)
2. Draft Derrick Favors (2.9% chance of happening)
3. Trade with T-Wolves were we unload Brand’s contract and move down to #4 and get Cousins(.1% chance)

Prepare for the breakdown.

EVAN TURNER, SG

Why will the Sixers draft Evan Turner? Because he is as close to a sure thing as you can get. Right now the position is completely vacant. Iguodala isn’t a shooting guard, Willie Green is best suited to be a towel boy, Jodie Meeks is a role player if he develops, and Jason Kapono is a one trick pony. Maybe Turner isn’t the outside shooter that we’ve been missing, but the guy has improved every year. He will be an excellent scorer, an above average defender, a good facilitator, and an outstanding rebounder for his position. Did I mention Willie Green stinks? His upside is Brandon Roy with knees, and his downside is…um…Brandon Roy on a bad night? THAT is why they take Evan Turner.

DERRICK FAVORS, PF/C

Why could they draft Derrick Favors? Because he might be the next Dwight Howard. His measurements are very similar to Howard’s prior to the 2004 NBA draft and he is an extremely gifted athlete. On top of that he seems to have a good attitude and the drive to work on his game at the next level. HOWEVER, he is raw. There have been 10,958 (estimate) athletic players that have failed to develop in the NBA. Whichever team selects him will look for him to be the next great NBA center, but he could be the next good NBA center, or the next average NBA center, or the next “shit we fucked up the draft” NBA center. The Pistons won the title after drafting Darko Milicic. The Sixers don’t have the luxury of taking that kind of risk here. By the way, he’s been dominated by Cousins in workouts. Which leads us to…

DEMARCUS COUSINS, C

Why could Demarcus Cousins be an option? Because it would probably mean that Elton Brand is gone, and he has the talent to be an all-star. Favors and Cousins have been working out for teams together, and all indications are that Cousins has been mopping up the floor with Favors while Favors has been spreading his cheeks to show how pink he is inside. Cousins has one huge red flag: he’s a head case. He gets cranky if things don’t go his way, he loses interest in the game, and he just has an overall shitty attitude. Guys like that tend to go all BP on an organization. He’s also a fatty. The upside is 20 and 10 perennial all-star; the downside is Eddy Curry.

Prediction: This is what we'll be seeing on draft day:

 

The day has come where all the frustrations of Samuel Dalembert have been lifted off Philadelphia basketball fans' shoulders. Sammy D is no longer a 76er. Like every other Philly sports fan with the ability to put together a complete thought, we here at TheWizWit have hated Sammy since day one. In case you forgot, THIS was the first post to ever appear on this blog.

You’ll be surprised how much my emotions shifted after hearing this news…

The details as reported by ESPN - The Kings have agreed to trade 22 year old, 7 foot center Spencer Hawes and Andres Nocioni to Philly for Dalemberts' $14.8M contract.

First hearing this made happy beyond belief. Sammy Dalembert is a terrible basketball player, and we'll never have to be aggravated by him again. Nocioni is an a decent role player off the bench and Hawes (while a little soft) has showed flashes of promise since being drafted in 2007. (sidebar – the Sixers will still be carrying Nocioni’s $7M salary into 2011, so don’t think that getting rid of Sammy’s contract is going to equal a big FA splash next year.)

HOWEVA - after letting it sink in for approximately three and half minutes, I grew scared. I fear this means the Sixers will not choose Evan Turner #2 and totally fuck up everything I had hoped for.  Not to mention - could they have done better in the deal?  Should they have held out for a late pick as well?  Is Nocioni going to create a greater strain on minutes for Thad and Speights?  Will Hawes be too much of a defensive liability?

Those are all questions bouncing around in my head.  But here are two points why, for the first time, things don't seem as clear cut for Turner as I once thought (hoped).

1). Hawes is only under contract through next season.

2). This comes on the heels of Evan Turners' workout in Philly this morning.

To me, unless they are absolutely in love with Hawes and plan on extending him quickly, the center position is going to be a gaping hole on this team in 2011. And is it possible Doug Collins didn’t like what he saw when Turner worked out earlier today? The whole thing just stinks of the Sixers drafting a big man.

I don’t know... maybe I'm just paranoid, but this team has made a lot of terrible decisions in the past. Right now, I can't help but think that it looks like Favors may be their guy.  I hope I'm wrong and they love Hawes' potential and will still draft Evan Turner.  Should they decide to go with Cousins, I'm not watching basketball next year.

We’ll have to wait till next weeks’ draft to see what happens with the #2 pick. Regardless if your rooting for Turner or Favors, at least enjoy the fact you won’t have to see this clown (see below) anywhere near your basketball team again.

So long Sammy.  I’m sure people in Sacramento don't really care about basketball, so you'll fit in just fine.  At least Sammy got to win that Olympic Hockey gold.

UPDATE! With a new picture from TWW friend Dave P:

Pretty sure Keanu is the only person sad-enough to feel bad that you're gone.

Get your Evan Turner jersey ready - the Philadelphia 76ers triumphed over mathematics and won the 2nd overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. While it's been no secret John Wall has been locked into the #1 overall selection since he was in high school, the Sixers are getting a pretty friggin awesome consolation prize in Turner.

If you weren't able to watch the ping pong balls drop live, it was quite the dramatic event. I think I peed a little as the Sixers were skipped over (thus guaranteeing a top 3 pick). At that moment, I could not have been more excited.

I'm sure Jrue Holiday, who was attending the event as the Sixers representative, was sneakily happy about getting #2 over #1. By winning the first pick, Holiday would've found himself fighting for playing time with Wall. But instead, the Sixers will getting a guy who can slide right into the role of shooting guard - a position which has been a huge hole for this squad for quite some time.

Since a lot of people don't follow college basketball, I’ll give a quick glimpse of what you can expect from Turner. As a junior from Ohio State, Turner averaged 20ppg/ 9 boards/ 6 assists and has had his game widely compared to NBA star Brandon Roy. Evan Turner is going to give the Sixers a creator on offense.  He's a true scorer with an ability to establish an offensive flow. But not to be overlooked, the guy is a willing defender and will be an above average one at the next level. And God knows the Sixers need a guy with all those qualities.

For those keeping score, the Wizards get the first overall selection. The Nets and their gigantic Russian owner were left holding their dicks on stage as they were awarded the #3 pick. Did anyone else see the sly, snickering look come across Jrue's face at that moment? Classic.

Today is a day to be happy Sixer fans. There weren't many of them this season. But the excitement this pick will garner made the awful 2009 campaign kind of worth it.

I'll leave you with the most dramatic highlight reel I could find.  Enjoy what's to come.

*if the Sixers blow this and pick someone else – or worse, a...European – I’m gonna be hella pissed