Celtics Fail to Re-Sign Evan Turner, Opens Door for Brown

Evan Turner has agreed to a four-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers

Per The Vertical, Evan Turner has agreed to a four-year deal with the Portland Trailblazers worth $75 million – $17.5 million per season. Turner was high on the Boston Celtics list this off-season, but was already lost during the first day of free agency. The Celtics likely didn’t want to go around that range for a sixth man as they still have their eyes set on Al Horford and Kevin Durant.

There was rumors that multiple teams were interested in Turner, although it seemed like a two-team race between the New York Knicks and Celtics. Portland came in somewhat surprisingly and snatched Turner away, as the former second overall pick finally gets his big pay day.

In two seasons with the Celtics, Turner only missed one game and was able to turn his career around. After a rough half season with the Indiana Pacers, he came to Boston in need of turning back the clock to when he was a coveted prospect coming out of Ohio State.

Last season, Turner was one of the most valuable bench players in the league. He received Sixth Man of the Year votes, and was arguably the team’s best all-around player. Turner contributed 10.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and one steal per game last season.

Although, just as it has throughout his entire career, Turner struggled with his three-point shot last season. But, it was the first time he attempted one three or less per game in his career, making his 21.4 three-point percentage a little more manageable. It won’t matter as much in Portland though as he’s being brought in to be a primary ball-handler, just like he was with the Celtics last season, and not as a spot-up shooter.

Turner acted as a point forward for the Celtics last season, being able to play the shooting guard to power forward position. It adds a lot of value to his game as the Trail Blazers can run their offense through him and have Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum play off-the-ball. That’s huge as both are good three-point shooters.

McCollum shot 41.7 percent from three last season, and Lillard connected on 37.5 percent of his shots from deep. Turner’s ability to drive the lane, hit consistently from mid-range – 42.7 percent from 10-to-16 feet out – and be an effective passer will draw a lot of attention from opposing teams, creating more open looks for the Trail Blazer’s star back court. The Trail Blazers have also announced that he will be starting alongside Lillard and McCollum – which probably was a big factor in signing with them.

It’s sad to see Turner go as he was a huge part of the game plan last year, and played an even bigger role in the playoffs. He finished the postseason averaging 13.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Although, it opens up more minutes for rookie Jaylen Brown and second-yer player Terry Rozier.

With Turner gone, Terry Rozier will have a bigger role, and Jaylen Brown becomes the primary small forward backup. There’s little doubt that Rozier and Brown will be able to replicate, and probably exceed, the production Turner was able to give last season.

For starters, an expanded role will finally let Rozier’s rebounding ability shine. He was an outstanding rebounder at the guard position, although the lack of minutes didn’t do him justice. He rebounded at an outstanding rate but it wasn’t shown in the stat sheet since he would only see around 10 minutes per night. Still, Rozier averaged 7.3 rebounds per 36 minutes, compared to Turner’s 6.3 per 36 minutes.

Being motivated on the glass is what sets Rozier apart from a lot of young guards. He’s not afraid to battle in the paint for rebounds, and the Celtics will definitely benefit from him getting extra playing time. Also, it finally allows him to show what he can do on offense.

With Marcus Smart being close to a liability on offense at times, Boston is frantically searching for a solid outside shooter. Even though Rozier was never a great outside shooter during his two seasons at Louisville, he did shoot 4-of-11 from behind the arc in the playoffs. While it’s a small sample size, it shows the potential Rozier holds from deep when he sees consistent minutes.

The biggest thing that Turner takes from the Celtics is versatility on the defensive end. While Turner did play small forward most of the time, he did spend 30 percent of his minutes as a shooting guard and three percent as a power forward in a small ball lineup.

Developing an outside shot will give more trust to Brad Stevens when it comes to playing Rozier as a shooting guard, which will help on defense. As a rookie, Rozier wasn’t able to exemplify his ability to create turnovers in his minimal minutes, although as a sophomore at Louisville he averaged two steals per game.

It’s not to say he’ll be among the league leaders in steals as a second year player, but the ability to guard both guard positions, even when playing alongside Isaiah Thomas, is there. That kind of defensive versatility is also found in Jaylen Brown. Being able to defend three positions is a wanted skill by teams, and that’s what Boston is hoping Brown is able to do.

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He’s listed as the same height but is a lot bulkier with a couple of extra pounds. Obviously there is a big jump from college to the NBA, but the extra minutes will help his development. Instead of competing for minutes every night, Brown should have a consistent role off the bench – pending the rest of the off-season.

The consistent playing time will help him develop a better jump shot quicker, and also get acclimated to the speed of the game. Brown should be viewed a lot higher on Rookie of the Year watch lists now, as well.

Also, it will give Brown a chance to guard a lot of different NBA players right away. Guarding a shooting guard, small forward or power forward are all very different, and knowing how to match-up with each will be a learning process for the rookie. When it comes down to it, the consistent minutes every night will let him focus on playing, rather than wondering if tonight he’ll be put into the game or not.

Next: Celtics Interested in Luol Deng, Smart Move?

Of course, a lot of moves will still be made that could change the Celtics game plan for next season. And even though Turner was a very big part to Boston’s game plan last season, him leaving is not all bad news. He got paid a well-deserved hefty contract, however with all the young back court options the Celtics have, they probably felt there was no need to pay him $17.5 million a year. In turn, it finally opened up minutes for their young back court.