Inside the Sixers: Sixers should consider trading Evan Turner for a big man

Following a 26-point, nine-rebound game in a 103-71 victory over Boston on March 7 last season, 76ers coach Doug Collins was clear about who Evan Turner is.

"Evan needs the ball," Collins said. "He's a totally different player when he has the ball in his hands."

Turner agrees. Given the choice, Turner would always prefer to have the ball in his hands. But this possibility dissipated, probably forever in Philadelphia, when the Sixers awarded Jrue Holiday a four-year, $41 million contact.

As things have gone from mediocre to awful this season, the 15-22 Sixers have to at least consider moving someone, and Turner, the No. 2 overall pick in 2010, is probably their most attractive piece at the moment.

The Sixers have lost 16 of their last 21 games. They have dropped their last four by an average of more than 21 points. In those four games their defense has been like a sieve, allowing 57 points on average in the second half.

This could be considered a slump if the Sixers had the wherewithal to turn things around. But with the current roster, they don't.

While much of the attention recently has gone to their inability to get to the line, their most glaring deficit is in the middle of the offense and defense where, theoretically, Andrew Bynum will ride in on a white horse and save the day on his arthritic knees.

A team simply cannot play NBA-caliber basketball if throwing the ball into the post is not an option, which is the case with the Sixers.

If they are looking for a long-term fix, they should at least explore trading Turner - unless they are utterly convinced that his ceiling is much higher than it presently appears - for someone such as the hyper-petulant DeMarcus Cousins, who appears to have worn out his welcome in Sacramento.

Yes, that DeMarcus Cousins, the same 22-year-old who has been suspended three times this season by the Kings.

It is a bit of a reach because, with the Sixers lacking any strong-willed veterans and having no real identity, taking on the talented-but-combustible Cousins would be a significant undertaking. Owner Josh Harris; Collins and his coaching staff; and players such as Jrue Holiday, Thaddeus Young, and Jason Richardson would have to lay down the ground rules to Cousins.

The Sixers appear to be headed nowhere. They gambled on Bynum, and, despite the rosiness of his last update, they can't bank on his return.

Young and talented players don't stay that way forever. And Cousins would no doubt be on his best behavior in a place like, say, San Antonio, where there is a legendary coach, a hall-of-fame big man, and veterans such as Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. The risk-reward ratio would be much less an issue than it would be in Philadelphia.

But young players quite often grow up. It can take a change of scenery for this to take place, and sometimes teams need to take risks.

Cousins, who can also play power forward (maybe alongside Bynum in a twin towers lineup), would help the Sixers in a number of ways. The Kings have gone 4-3 in the seven games since Cousins returned from his latest suspension. He has averaged 19.3 points on 46.8 percent shooting, grabbed an average of 12.7 rebounds, and handed out 4.4 assists in that stretch.

Turner is having the best year of his career with the Sixers, averaging 13.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. But the Sixers need Turner, now in his third season - the season many experts say is the one that determines the player's eventual career arc - to shift some of the load of carrying a struggling team from Holiday's shoulders to his own.

How has he responded?

Over the last 12 games, Turner has averaged 10.6 points while playing almost 36 minutes per game. In the 16 preceding games, Turner averaged 18.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists.

The trade deadline isn't until Feb. 21. Who knows: Perhaps by then the Sixers will somehow still be in contention for the playoffs, Bynum will be back, and all the pieces will fit the way the front office envisioned.

But that, at least right now, is as least as big a gamble as acquiring Cousins.

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