Portland Trail Blazers: Evan Turner wants to win, not start

The Portland Trail Blazers swingman and new backup point guard, Evan Turner, recently spoke to ESPN’s Zach Lowe. During their conversation, Turner spoke about the importance of winning to him.

The Portland Trail Blazers are trying something different this season: playing Evan Turner as the full-time backup point guard. Throughout his stint with Portland he has been and out of starting lineups, but this change now looks for good. For this season, Turner will fit into a clearly etched out role.

And so far, so good. Turner has begun the season averaging 10.1 points, 4.3 assists (2nd on the team), and 5.1 rebounds. The second unit moves the ball well with him at the helm, and he can get to his spots around the floor for his own shot too. Occasionally, he’ll find his way into games with the starters at the end of first and third quarters – this lineup is a blistering +50.4 in 47 minutes played.

The Blazers are thriving with Turner as their backup point, sitting at 9-3 to start the year. And Turner himself is benefitting as well.

But perhaps his solid play should be of no surprise to us. Turner is willing to work as hard as he can in any situation. Winning is of utmost importance to him.

Recently, he sat down with ESPN’s Zach Lowe on his podcast The Lowe Post. During the recording, Lowe and Turner get on the subject of Turner’s time as a Boston Celtic:

"Lowe: After Indiana, there was like, I gotta find – you gotta find a spot where you can be you where the fit is right and that turned out to be, like Boston really revived your career…Evan Turner: Yeah, I think it revived my career and it helped me grow as a player and as a teammate. And I think I started picturing – you know, figuring out the whole big picture. You know? When it comes down to it, I’ve been in situations where I would have decent numbers in okay situations and it didn’t feel as good as probably averaging ten, five, and five, coming off the bench. You know what I’m saying? Being a great locker room guy, helping the guy behind me, helping the youth, you know what I’m saying? Enjoying the whole atmosphere. And I think I learned, you know, Brad always preached, “Star in your role.”Lowe: Brad does like to say that.Turner: But honestly, that’s the truth. Genuinely don’t worry about anything else. When we were in Boston, Isaiah was the star, Amir Johnson rebounded, Smart was a hustle dude, Avery Bradley did his thing, Jae Crowder. Know what I’m saying? We all had to be prepared. And at the end of the day, you are what you are, and you’re only as good what they see you to do. So, that’s basically it. And Boston really got things jumping, and I was able utilized in a way that definitely helped my game, and we were able to turn a rebuilding year into a playoff year.Lowe: It’s crazy."

Turner clearly prefers fitting into a situation correctly in order to maximize his own effectiveness in it rather than just get glamour stats. With Brad Stevens in Boston, he saw firsthand how much a cohesive group that bought into their individual strengths can outperform the sum of their parts. Coming off the bench for the Blazers, then, should be something that ET should be welcoming as he is performing beautifully as the team’s secondary playmaker.

If Portland can get a similarly bought in Turner that Boston got, he could be a very important guy for not only players like Anfernee Simons and Gary Trent Jr, but guys like Nik Stauskas and Meyers Leonard. His ability to understand everyone’s effectiveness makes him a valuable asset to any locker room.

Watch for Turner to continue his hot start against the same team he praised for reviving him, the Boston Celtics, on November 11 at 6:00 P.S.T.