Portland Trail Blazers: 2016 Offseason Grades
Too Turnt For Turner
When the Portland Trail Blazers lost four of their five starters last summer, general manager Neil Olshey eventually earned the benefit of the doubt for aiming young, with an unlikely bunch immediately clicking and making it all the way to the second round of the playoffs.
Sure, they had some help with the bottom of the West falling off, only needing 44 wins to earn the fifth seed in the playoffs and making it to the second round by the grace of season-ending injuries to both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. But the Blazers were still far more successful than anyone thought they’d be, and they had a young foundation to build upon moving forward.
Unfortunately, with a move like Evan Turner‘s four-year, $70 million contract, Olshey may have made the same mistake that general manager Ryan McDonough once made with his 48-win Phoenix Suns team in 2013-14: Buying too much into his team’s ability to compete in the here and now.
On NBATV, Terry Stotts said Evan Turner can play the 2 or 3, and that Al-Farouq Aminu will play a lot of 4 next year.
— Michael Gallagher (@MikeSGallagher) July 9, 2016
Though Al-Farouq Aminu had a career year in Rip City, averaging 10.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while providing steady defense on the wing, his 36.1 percent shooting from deep left something to be desired.
Instead of addressing that issue on the wing, however, Olshey turned to a playmaking 3 whose notable flaws (shooting, consistent defense) have somehow made him as underrated as his successful stint in Boston and new paycheck have made him overrated.
Throw in the fact that Aminu isn’t going anywhere and the Blazers matched a huge offer for restricted free agent Allen Crabbe and the question marks become hard to ignore.
of the 5 Blazers making more than $10 million a year .... Evan Turner is their best defender.
— Tim (@ChuckShots) July 26, 2016
Last season with the Celtics, Turner averaged 10.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game and served as a primary playmaker off the bench, but how will that work in Portland when Lillard (starters) and McCollum (second unit) fill similar roles?
How will he improve the Blazers’ spacing after he shot 24.1 percent from deep last season? Can Aminu hold his own for that long as a small-ball 4? Will Crabbe be able to spread the floor better than he did last year, when he shot 39.4 percent from downtown?
Turner deserved a pay raise, but getting paid $17.5 million a year would’ve been excessive for any team, let alone one where his fit and purpose remains unclear. Accelerating the rebuild with a signing like this could put Portland in the same sort of limbo the Suns fell into in 2014-15: too good to tank, but not good enough to build on their stunning success the year before.
Grade: D+
Next: Ezeli Portland's Best Move