Many trade deadlines have come and gone with nothing happening for the Sixers. With Thursday’s deadline looming, there is speculation that a player or players will be dealt.
Evan Turner thinks that might be the case, and he is looking forward to teams finally showing their hand.
“I am excited to see what’s going to happen because it is like a riddle,” Turner said. “Whatever happens, happens.”
When this season began, Turner, Spencer Hawes and Thaddeus Young were all thought to be trade bait. They were building blocks for the former management group. They were not hand-picked by first-year president and general manager, Sam Hinkie.
But with three days left before the deadline, all three are still wearing Sixers uniforms.
Brett Brown’s feeling about the deadline is that it is a valid concern, but he hopes it is not a thought that monopolizes any of his players' minds.
"When I got this job, speculation and rumors were all around from Day 1,” Brown said. “Nothing changes. We are trying to help these guys get better. We are trying to put them in situations where they can play good basketball.
NBA
“I want them to improve. I hope they are enjoying their time with the Sixers. I hope they feel like they have a coaching staff digging in for them, because we are. That is how we have handled it from Day One and that is how we will navigate through this time of year.”
It is no secret the Sixers are not interested in taking on big contracts. They are interested in draft picks.
Young has two years left on his deal with 2015-16 being a player option at $9.7 million. Hawes becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season, and Turner will be a restricted free agent so long as the Sixers make him a qualifying offer.
All three veterans have value. The unknown is what teams are willing to give up to get any one of the three.
Turner, now in his fourth NBA season, understands that talk increases as the deadline nears. Whether there's any truth to the talk is a whole different story.
“I was never worried about it,” Turner said. “There is no relief. At the end of the day, so much has been said and there are too many rumors really to concern yourself with.”
Turner insists that he doesn’t read papers or blogs, but in the next breath, he is saying his words often get twisted. The likely truth is he reads or hears what people are saying about him. He's just learned to put little stock in those words.
“It is not for me to read,” Turner said. “I comment on stuff and then I hear how it gets twisted. It is not really about what I say, it’s about what people want the headlines to say.”