Are the Trail Blazers following the Warriors’ blueprint for complementing their stellar backcourt?
Outside of keeping their own players, the biggest move the Trail Blazers made this summer was signing Evan Turner to a 4-year 70 million dollar contract. The former Celtics sixth man has been received in Portland with mixed reviews. The polarization stems from the size of his contract, which has caused people to overlook the versatility he brings to the team for the coming season.
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Viewing Turner as a traditional wing is a step in the wrong direction, as his skills don’t fit the prototype of today’s “3 & D” player. Instead you have a player that acts as a facilitator, defends multiple positions, and scores from inside the three point arc. While this might be perceived as going against the grain of today’s NBA – the Warriors use Shaun Livingston in a similar fashion. Turner’s addition makes a lot more sense when you view it through this lens, instead of nitpicking his lack of outside shooting.
Livingston has rejuvenated his career since suffering a gruesome knee injury early in his career, and he has done so by finding his niche in the league. He has never been known as an outside shooter (career .190 3P%), but he makes up for it in other ways. Livingston starts with using his long frame (6-7) to stifle opposing perimeter players, and finishes with playing within himself on the offensive end. Despite being a poor shooter from outside, Livingston managed to put up a solid .536 FG% in 2015-16.
Expecting the same sort of role out of Turner isn’t that far of a reach. Outside of their similar playing styles, the numbers are strikingly comparable. Turner played nearly ten minutes more per game than Livingston last year, so we used their Per 36 numbers to get a clearer look at the two players side by side (full numbers can be found at Basketball-Reference.com).
Livingston – 11.6 PTS / 1.4 STL / 5.6 AST / 1.8 TO
Turner – 13.5 PTS / 1.3 STL / 5.7 AST / 2.7 TO
There is some obvious give and take between some categories, but the numbers suggest that they play in a very similar style. Beyond these numbers, Adam Fromal of Bleacher Report brought up another statistic that sticks out when it comes to Turner’s similar defensive abilities.
"“Turner has stealthily developed into a plus defender, thanks primarily to his intuitive understanding of pick-and-roll sets. The Boston Celtics loved when he got switched onto a ball-handler, since he allowed just 0.62 points per possession and finished in the 92.3rd percentile. This wasn’t some low-usage fluke, either. Pick-and-roll ball-handlers accounted for 27.6 percent of his defensive possessions.” – Bleacher Report"
If Turner can mimic Livingston’s role with the Warriors, it could mean big things for the Trail Blazers in the win column. Allowing Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum to have more freedom on both ends of the court should translate to immediate wins. Yes there will be times when Turner will be left alone on the perimeter, but he will make up for it in other areas.
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A numbers comparison can only take you so far, and many of Turner’s biggest critics will point to his salary to soften the connection between the two players. While it is tough to argue, getting a massive payday in the NBA is about being in the right place at the right time. If Livingston hit this summer’s market at 27 years old (Turner’s age) and with a better injury history – he’d likely be signing his name to a contract that is in excess of 70 million dollars.