The Portland Trail Blazers traded Evan Turner to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Kent Bazemore on Monday afternoon.
It appears the news hit Blazers guard CJ McCollum hard, and he showed some love for Turner on Twitter:
One of the realest ones I ever met . Love for life bruh ✊🏾 #LiNingGang pic.twitter.com/Wx1c9VW5px
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) June 24, 2019
Turner has a reputation of being an outstanding teammate. Even though his on-court role with the Blazers diminished this past season, it appears they will miss his voice and leadership in the locker room.
Turner averaged a career-low 22 minutes and 6.8 points per game, and started just two of his 73 games this past season with Portland.
The Blazers and Hawks just switched the inflated contracts of Turner and Bazemore in this deal. Both players were part of the 2016 free-agency class where pretty much everyone got to eat.
Turner signed a four-year, $70-million deal and has $18.6 million due this coming season. Similarly, Bazemore signed the same deal and will make $19.3 million in 2019-20.
While the trade is by no means a blockbuster deal, the move somehow makes sense for both sides.
Atlanta has no problem eating up the final year of Turner's current deal. The 30-year-old swingman out of Ohio State brings his veteran presence to a young Hawks team that has seven players under rookie-scale contracts. This is definitely valuable for a growing team like Atlanta, and he can help play some point guard for the team.
Bazemore, on the other hand, will be a slight upgrade as a 3-and-D guy for the Blazers. The 29-year-old guard from Old Dominion is a much better 3-point shooter than Turner and can play solid defense as well. Bazemore is a career 35 percent shooter from long distance, while Turner is under 30 percent.
Follow Us
Subscribe