The 30 most painful NBA Draft pass-ups since 2000

NBA Draft Mistake #16: Philadelphia drafting Evan Turner over DeMarcus Cousins and Paul George.

Former number two pick Evan Turner had three productive seasons at Ohio State, culminating with him averaging 20.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 6 assists per game and being selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2010. His ability to fill up stat sheets made him seem like a safe choice, not to mention he had three years of college experience.

Although Turner would go on to have a long career, unfortunately, he was just decent instead of great. He spent three and a half seasons with the 76ers, and the first two of those years were spent coming off the bench. When he did get the chance to start in the final two seasons, he played well but was far from star level.

Philadelphia agreed and traded him to Indiana for an over-the-hill Danny Granger and a second-round pick. Hindsight is 20/20, but had the Sixers drafted DeMarcus Cousins or Paul George instead, they might not have needed to resort to the drastic “process”. Then again, some of their later draft decisions could have helped make up for Turner’s failure to pan out. More on that later.