The Timberwolves’ roster has undergone a major overhaul in the first week of February, and the next newest member of Minnesota’s team you need to study up on is Evan Turner.
A Midwest native, Turner was born in Chicago and attended Ohio State University where he was named the 2010 Naismith College Player of the Year Award and received the John R. Wooden Award after averaging 20.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Turner often defended four positions while playing point guard, shooting guard and small forward for the Buckeyes.
The Philadelphia 76ers selected Turner with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 draft (John Wall was the No. 1 overall pick) after he was hyped as the most versatile player on the draft board. Turner spent nearly four seasons with Philly before being dealt to the Indiana Pacers in February of 2014 when he was 25 years old.
Before being traded, Turner was averaging 17.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game in his fourth season in the league. However, Philly held a 15-40 record and was willing to package Turner, one of their best players at the time, if it meant adding a future second-round pick for the 2015 draft.
Turner only played 27 games as a Pacer and received limited playing time in Indiana’s journey to the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals. He became an unrestricted free agent in the following offseason and signed with Boston in September. Turner’s time in Boston was also brief, but he soon became a reliable member of the second unit who could find his footing in the starting lineup whenever Marcus Smart, Rajon Rondo or Avery Bradley were unavailable. The two-season Celtic averaged 10 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game and received an average of 27.8 minutes of playing time in the 163 games he played with Boston.
Turner signed with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2016’s free agency period and saw all of his stats drop but excelled when used as the second unit’s primary ball handler rather than as an off-ball shooter. His most memorable game with Portland may have come just last March when he scored 14 points off the bench, filling in for Rodney Hood who suffered a knee injury in Game 7 of the Trail Blazers’ Western Conference Semifinals series against the Denver Nuggets. Portland landed a 100-96 win and was boosted by two late free-throws from Turner that helped ice the game.
Yet, Turner was on the move again in June when he was traded to Atlanta in exchange for Kent Bazemore. Turner missed eight straight games early in the 2019-20 season due to a lingering injury and only averaged 3.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 13.2 minutes per game in the 19 contests he played with the Hawks.
What can the Wolves cash in on from the 31-year-old’s six-stop journey around the league? A lot.
Versatility
There is an overarching theme throughout Turner’s time in the league: he can contribute in multiple areas as a starter or a reserve.
Turner averaged 12.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists in the 295 games of his career he’s started in. His numbers have dwindled slightly in the games he’s come off the bench, but he’s still averaging 7.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists as a reserve player.
When Turner was traded to Indiana from Philly, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Kevin Love and Blake Griffin were the only players in the league who bested his stat line of 17.4/6.0/3.7. Turner is probably past the point in his career where he can produce those numbers on a nightly basis, but as his entire career shows, you aren’t going to get many empty nights from the veteran player.
Playoff Experience
Turner has played in 63 playoff games while starting in 27 of those postseason games. That’s more postseason experience than the remaining Timberwolves roster has to offer.
In those games, Turner is averaging 7.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and is shooting 35.6 percent from 3-point range in about 23 and half minutes of playing time.
As mentioned, Turner has proven he’s a player who can rise to the occasion when called upon. That’s a quality the Wolves will lean on as they continue to add more and more young players who align with 24-year-old Karl-Anthony Towns’ timeline.
Mr. Entertainer
While most NBA players of today’s game try to keep things tight-lipped and say the right things while speaking to the media, Turner isn’t afraid to let it fly.
Turner has given us approximately 498,203 hilarious quotes. He once suggested he should be the new NBA logo during a Celtics pregame interview without cracking a smile. He expressed his interest in catching the “50 Shades of Grey” movie when he wasn’t selected as a participant in the 2015 All-Star happenings. My favorite may have been when he interrupted a Draymond Green interview to remind the Warrior and former Michigan State player he still owed him for a bet they had on a Buckeyes vs. Spartans matchup.
Wherever he is, Turner seems to keep things entertaining. He can provide a light-hearted atmosphere in the locker room but turn things up once he steps on to the court. Adding a veteran player with his on- and off-court demeanor could be valuable for the Wolves.