A former No. 2 overall pick who started all 82 games during his third NBA season would normally be an extension candidate, but Evan Turner has instead drawn mention as a possible trade candidate as the Sixers and new GM Sam Hinkie overhaul the team. Turner tells Jason Wolf of The News Journal that agent David Falk and the Sixers haven’t discussed adding extra years to his rookie scale contract.
“We haven’t spoke on it and there’s nothing really to talk on it. Right now, what do you really say?” Turner said. “ … I’m not upset about anything. I’m not upset about it. I know what type of player I’m going to be. I know who I am and I know what I’ve done. Obviously, we’ve got a different situation. We’ve switched GMs, we’ve switched (team) presidents, things are going different ways, but I’m not going to sit here and be upset.”
Former GM Tony DiLeo was reportedly in favor of keeping Turner around, but Turner acknowledged the uncertainty that Hinkie’s arrival brought to the roster, and the 6’7″ swingman said when camp began that he had been preparing himself for the possibility of a trade over the summer. If the Sixers pull off a swap between now and October 31st, the deadline for rookie scale extensions, it’s possible that Turner could sign an extension with his new team, as James Harden did last year with the Rockets. Falk has made his reluctance to do rookie scale extensions clear, so It seems more likely that wherever Turner ends up by the end of 2013/14, he’ll go into next summer as a restricted free agent.
“I’m going to get money and everything like that,” Turner told Wolf. “Whether I get it now or later, I’ve been blessed enough to be financially stable, but … I think it’s going to be something good in the bigger picture. If you just worry about winning everything is going to work out.”