Evan Turner was at the top of the world two years ago, garnering national attention and widely considered the best basketball player in the NCAA. He went on to be the #2 pick in the 2010 NBA draft, going to Philly as a potential franchise saving player.
But things didn’t work out like that, at least not yet. Turner struggled during his rookie season as he attempted to make the switch from point guard to off guard and find his rhythm with a new team. There was talk that he and Andre Iguodala could not be on the court together and talk that he and Jrue Holiday couldn’t coexist either.
Now Evan Turner is a year wiser, a year more comfortable in the system and should see a bump in minutes in his second season. For the time being Iguodala is still on the team but there have been persistant rumors of a trade. When/if the NBA lockout ends there very well could be a major move made which would clear the way for Evan Turner to make his mark on the team.
So often players make their biggest jump from their first to second seasons and I would expect that Evan Turner follows this trend. He is too good of a basketball player not to and my guess is that this year he will find his comfort zone in the NBA. He might not be a franchise savior but he’ll be a darn good player. Now we just need the damn lockout to end so we can get back to thinking about Summer League, training camp and the regular NBA season.