Evan Turner doesn’t care if you think he’s overpaid and he made that clear yesterday.
Evan Turner doesn’t want to hear your opinions of the $70M contract he signed with Portland in 2016.
He doesn’t care if you think his 8 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists per game are worth less than the ~$17M he’s set to make every year until 2020.
And he really doesn’t want you bringing any of this up during a game, let alone every home game, for the entire season.
Jason Quick of NBC Sports Northwest recently chatted with Evan about a longtime heckler, who apparently had a thing for badgering Turner endlessly. Some of the quotes from the piece are pure gold, but none more than this nugget.
"“First off, let me say one thing: Everything I have done, I have earned. My contract – that’s my bread, and I earned my bread. So, kiss my ass. Dead serious. Write that. I earned that (expletive) money.’’"
Wow. Let’s unpack that.
About his bread, he’s right: he did earn it. Sort of in the same way that I earned that $20 bill I found on the sidewalk. It was there, so I took it.
For Evan Turner, the contract was there, so he took it.
Seems fair.
Contract didn’t only surprise the fans
It’s worth pointing out that when Blazers President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey came calling, Turner himself was a more than a little surprised. Per ESPN’s Zach Lowe:
"He was almost as stunned as you by Portland’s mega-offer, by the way, which turned out to be for four years and $70 million. Turner’s agent made him promise not to tell anyone about the proposal until he signed it. Turner was too giddy, though. He hung up with his agent, immediately called Andre Iguodala, still a close friend and mentor, and blurted out, “Yo, Dre! They offered this!” Turner recalled, laughing."
Anyone reading Quick’s piece is right to point out, “hey Evan: if YOU can be shocked by your contract, so can everyone else.”
In Turner’s defense, nobody should have to be harassed at work every day about how much they make. Not even NBA players.
Evan Turner not alone
Turner’s not the only one who thinks that people should keep their eyes on their own prize. Damian Lillard would certainly agree, tweeting the following in 2016 after seeing criticism of Mike Conley’s $153M contract.
Be happy for a brother and never count another mans bread... #hello ... Congrats https://t.co/SkVOpV5fta
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) July 1, 2016
Still, it’s tough not to have seen this coming: Nate Duncan of the Dunc’d On Podcast gave the Blazers an “F+” for their signings in 2016, and Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated wrote that the signing had “serious backfire potential” and graded it as a “D+”.
It’s also true that Evan Turner may actively harm the team when he’s on the floor. His Box Plus/Minus, which shows how much value a player adds compared to a league-average player, is -2.7.
That’s NEGATIVE 2.7 to be clear.
Next: Blazers beat depleted Heat for 10th straight win
The Blazers also shoot better, rebound better, have a better offensive rating, and have a better defensive rating… when he’s on the bench.
Despite what Turner brings (or doesn’t being) to the team, we should all agree on this: if you’re at a Blazers game, and you’re a Blazers fan…. MAYYYYBE you shouldn’t crap on your own players every game. Or ever.