Evan Turner finally cashed in Friday, as he agreed to a 4-year $70 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers per The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski. After 5th in Sixth Man of the Year voting this season, Turner set himself up for a big free agent market and received an average annual salary of $17.5 million, or 18.6 percent of the cap.
Jul 1, 2016 at 1:20pm PDT
Turner will likely start at small forward for Portland after Chandler Parsons reportedly chose the Memphis Grizzlies' 4-year, $94 million max offer instead of the same deal from Portland. Turner will have much less ball-handling responsibility in Portland, as he will play next to great playmaking scorers in Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. The corner three-point shot that he for the most part abandoned last seasons will need to once again become an important part of his game.
Turner experienced a resurgence under Brad Stevens in Boston. The number two pick struggled to deal with the expectations of his draft status in Philadelphia, despite playing a key role on a team that nearly shocked the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2012. But when Sam Hinkie took over and started The Process, Turner was eventually traded to the Pacers at the trade deadline for deteriorating Danny Granger.
Turner struggled in Indiana, clashing with Lance Stephenson and getting out of there as soon as the season was over. The Celtics gave him a chance for a fresh start when they signed him to a 2-year deal for just $6.7 million total. But turner flourished in Boston, becoming the second ball handler behind Isaiah Thomas and playing a crucial role in their playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks when Avery Bradley went down and Jae Crowder was clearly hurt.
But most importantly, he left Boston with this unforgettable moment:
