5. The only trade I could think of right now was one that included Tyson Chandler – and that’s why this is the last and saddest point of this whole article.
Originally, this was going to be a “3 Evan Turner trades” article. But then I went onto ESPN’s Trade Machine…
I could not reason trying to talk any of my readers into believing that any team would truly give up anything of value for Turner.
However, I did find one trade that I thought was believable and realistic and would actually help both teams:
Yes, this is truly an eye-roller of a trade. But let me explain myself.
The Phoenix Suns desperately need a ball-handler and Evan Turner would be a decent supplemental option for them in the short term, especially if they cannot find a true guard to come over.
It’s unlikely he would play alongside Devin Booker much. But when Booker heads to the bench, Turner could truly be the secondary facilitator for this Suns team.
Also, the Suns were the worst ranked defense in the league last season. While Turner is not a good defender, he isn’t awful by any means. And his length and strength alone may sure up this very porous Phoenix team.
With the acquisitions of No. 1 pick DeAndre Ayton and Ryan Anderson from the Houston Rockets, along with second-year player Dragan Bender, it’s unlikely that Tyson Chandler will see much playing time this year. So, why not swap his $13-million contract for a $17-million one that they may actually have some use for?
For the Blazers, they also would have little use for Tyson Chandler. But getting rid of Evan Turner opens up more minutes for Seth Curry, Nik Stauskas, Simons, and Trent, all of which are players that project to fit much more seamlessly into Portland’s offense.
They’d ultimately be exchanging a bad two-year contract for a slightly less bad one-year one, while opening up space for some of their more intriguing players.
This isn’t a deal that would move any needles, but it might be good business.
We can only trudge on.
Evan Turner will most likely spend the last two years of his contract as a Portland Trail Blazer, fading more and more as he ages. And then he will fade into obscurity. That is, unless a new team comes along to snatch him up at a very reasonable deal and figures out how to re-unlock his value.
There’s no doubt that Turner is talented. His talent just does not fit within the Blazers system and what he does well no longer translates to the NBA.
For the next two years, we can only trudge on.
We can only hope that the Blazers start playing Turner less and less to the benefit of the team, putting his contract aside.
The best case scenario concerning Evan Turner is that Gary Trent Jr or Anfernee Simons develop quickly enough to fully replace him.