Is Evan Turner the Odd Man Out?

The Boston Celtics will be facing a difficult roster decision soon as they currently need to trim their 16 guaranteed contracts down to 15. It may not seem to tough of a task to take one player out but with how deep and how balanced the Celtics are they will be losing a player with some value.

Initially, it was expected that Perry Jones would be the odd man out. The Celtics acquired him form the Oklahoma City Thunder who were attempting to free up cap space but according to ESPN’s Chris Forsberg it may actually be a much closer race.

Evan Turner was arguably the most frustrating player on the Celtics last season. He was often the primary ball handler which led to multiple triple doubles and game winning shots but his ill advised isolation basketball and sub 28% shooting from beyond the arc drove fans insane.

Apr 14, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Evan Turner (11) shoots against Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas (17) in the second half at TD Garden. The Celtics defeated the Toronto Raptors 95-93. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The biggest problem was that it appeared as though Brad Stevens was fully invested in Turner. He continued to go back to Turner, giving him all the opportunities in the world to take over the offense.

Well, a lot of things have changed this offseason and they are not working in Turner’s favor. The Celtics drafted three more guards, two of which are now on the team and with Smart’s growth Turner has become expendable.

The Celtics will eventually want Smart to have more control of the offense and with plenty of options at the SG position, the only thing that may save Turner is his potential to play the SF position. The Celtics have absolutely no depth behind Jae Crowder and Turner has the necessary physical tools to switch over.

The problem is that even if Turner has the potential to switch positions the team loves what they could get out of Perry Jones. The Celtics have plenty of power forwards on the team but the majority of them are undersized. Then the only ones that are not undersized (Jared Sullinger and Jonas Jerebko) are significantly less athletic than Jones.

Jones can be one of the better all around athletes on the Celtics and even if Jordan Mickey makes his athleticism less needed, Mickey is still not a sure thing.

Jones would also be a great option for when the Celtics do not want to play small ball but also do not want to sacrifice athleticism.

Jones was never given a good enough of an opportunity with the Thunder to properly show case what he is capable of but if the Celtics keep him on the roster they will give him that opportunity.

The Celtics have seen enough of Turner to know what to expect from him but Jones is a complete unknown. If the Celtics believe that Turner is an expendable player then they are much better off keeping the potential with Jones.

Mar 25, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Perry Jones (3) dunks the ball during the first half against the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Throw in that Jones also has the potential to play SF and it becomes more and more difficult to see Turner remaining with the team.

Jones can do a much better job of improving the Celtics’ rebounding woes and he may wind up being an upgrade on the defensive end. The Celtics need rim protection and Jones has a lot more potential in that area than Turner.

The number one thing keeping Turner on the team is how much Stevens trusted him last season but they had much fewer options at his position. Now that the Celtics have the necessary depth to make Turner expendable the team will focus a lot more on his negatives and that is terrible news for him because there are a lot of negatives.

Jones does not have the trust but he also does not have the negatives. The Celtics are still at a point where they can allow players to develop on their team and Jones has the potential to develop into a top power forward on the team.

Jones also brings a combination of athleticism and height that no one else on the team brings and that advantage alone may be enough to send Turner packing.

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