But the Sixers are no longer a sum-of-their parts team. They are no longer, as Collins described them, "maxed out" in terms of talent. There is no longer a need to have Meeks theoretically as a long-distance threat, supposedly creating driving lanes and space for his teammates to operate underneath.
When the Sixers welcomed center Andrew Bynum into the fold a little over a week ago, Collins wasted no time saying that Turner, Jrue Holiday, and Bynum were surefire starters. It is yet to be determined whether Turner will start at shooting guard or in Andre Iguodala's old small forward spot.
However, while Turner's development is still paramount to the Sixers, heightened expectations for the upcoming season will put the focus elsewhere.
Collins now has a center who is easily the best in the Eastern Conference and a team that can cause matchup problems that last year's team simply couldn't.
Meeks was a fighter but simply not a good enough shooter - although you have to figure his shot will fall with more regularity in Los Angeles - for the role Collins cast for him.
Now that role goes to Jason Richardson, the logical starter at shooting guard, a guy who has made 1,238 three-pointers since 2004, a player who in that time trails only Ray Allen in that category.
There are those who look at the Sixers' current roster and suggest the team could rise as high as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. And for this to happen, Collins has to quickly mesh his pieces. He must take a big-picture approach and move away from the micromanagement of Turner.
Defending world champion Miami is the obvious No. 1 seed, but then it becomes murky. Chicago won't be nearly the team it was last season for the simple fact that when Derrick Rose does return, for all intents and purposes the explosion that exemplifies his game won't return - if it ever does - until the 2013-14 season. It's just an ugly fact that torn anterior cruciate ligaments take a minimum of a year to heal. That alone is reason to believe the Bulls, last season the best team in the East during the regular season, fall back to the pack.
The Knicks? Please. I don't care how much Carmelo Anthony and reigning defensive player of the year (another joke) Tyson Chandler benefited from their Olympic experience. Last time we saw them in the playoffs they were rolling over like helpless dogs to the Heat. Playing alongside Kobe Bryant and LeBron James doesn't guarantee an infusion of heart that the Knicks still lack.
Boston? Is it realistic to believe that Kevin Garnett, who turns 37 this season, continues to play at that high level? Of course not.
Collins is going to be preoccupied with mixing and matching the new parts around Bynum to make sure that the Sixers become at least a 50-win team. That's not too much to ask when you compare this roster to the one that two years ago went 41-41. It is not too much to ask of this team to be at least 10 wins better than that one.
The Sixers' newfound versatility is going to allow them at times to go small with, say, Holiday, Richardson, Nick Young, and Dorrell Wright on the floor as part of a lineup of shooters. When this happens, it's going to be incumbent of Turner to understand it's being done because the Sixers have depth to create matchup havoc now, not for any personal reasons.
From all indications, Turner is working very hard on his game this offseason. Who knows? While it wasn't apparent last season, maybe this is the year in which the Sixers begin to reap the benefits of the shooting instruction Turner received from Philadelphia University Hall of Fame coach Herb Magee.
Marked improvement by Turner, especially if it were to occur this season, Turner's third, would prove to be incalculably beneficial to the Sixers.
But don't expect him to get the teacher's pet attention he has seen in the past. The Sixers' goals moving forward are a little bit too big for that.
Contact John N. Mitchell at jmitchell@philly.com, or follow on Twitter @JmitchInquirer. Read his blog, "Deep Sixer," at www.philly.com/deepsixer
