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Evan Turner on joining Pacers: 'Hopefully I'll earn my minutes and be able to play'

Watching Evan Turner transition from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Indiana Pacers should be interesting given the drastic change in role he's set to assume.

On the abysmal 76ers, the second overall pick from the 2010 Draft was the leading scorer (17.4 points per game) and was taking more field goal attempts than anyone with the exception of Michael Carter-Williams. But following the trade that sent Danny Granger to Philly, Turner now finds himself as a bench player on the league-leading Indiana Pacers. He may very well average 25.0 minutes per game, but it's quite a change to say the least.

The good thing though is that Turner is heading to Indiana knowing he'll have a reduced role in comparison to what he had with the 76ers.

"Hopefully I'll earn my minutes and be able to play," Turner told NBA.com. "I'm going to keep my eyes and my ears open. Try to walk the way they walk and get used to their foundation and standards."

There's a little bit of irony in Turner joining a team led by Paul George. Both players were drafted in 2010, but Turner was selected eight spots ahead of his new teammate. The two have remained in contact since becoming friends while preparing for the draft, but George wasn't afraid to point out that Turner is "now on my team" on Sunday.

Turner went through a pre-practice video session with the Pacers on Sunday, before going through the halfcourt offense alongside Andrew Bynum, Donald Sloan, and Solomon Hill. He'll make his debut on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers.

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