Blogs > Deitch on the 76ers

Daily Times staff writer Dennis Deitch covers the 76ers

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Draft Night Live Bloggin'

6:59 p.m.: Greetings from the media room at the Wells Fargovia FirstStates Center! It's almost time to light the candle and see what goes down with the Sixers in the NBA Draft. As we get down to the final minutes before the Sixers are on the clock with the No. 2 selection, it has become very unlikely that there will be any maneuvering. That means Evan Turner should be in the starting backcourt with Jrue Holiday opening night.

7:04 p.m.: Mike Missanelli, Bob Ford and Terry Toohey are here commiserating. It's like we took a ride in a deLorean to 1985 and a softball game broke out.
Should we recount how the Sixers have done with top-3 picks in the draft over the years and upset everyone? Of course we should.

NO. 1: Allen Iverson (1996), Doug Collins (1973)
NO. 2: Keith Van Horn (1997), Shawn Bradley (1993), Marvin Barnes (1974)
NO. 3: Jerry Stackhouse (1995), Charles Smith (1988).

Take those seven players, put them on the court in their NBA primes, and you have a 40-win team.

8:10 p.m.: Well, the Sixers didn't get cute and didn't opt to use the pick as a trade chip. They took Evan Turner, and they are pleased. And they should be. The kid might not do one thing great, but he does everything well. And that means he won't need time to develop a particular aspect of his game.