Turner hopes C’s throw wait-around
Evan Turner the basketball player left town Saturday night and headed for Portland. Evan Turner the Celtics follower remains.
And as regards efforts of the Green to take the next and giant step on the path to championship contention, he’s looking for — dare we say it — fireworks.
“I think you’ve got to probably trade that pick,” Turner said of the Brooklyn pick that will be property of the Celts this June once president of basketball operations Danny Ainge exercises the option to swap first-round positions. “I mean, if you have to take a point guard, you’ve got Isaiah (Thomas) playing how he’s playing, and Marcus (Smart) is developing. There’s no room. You barely get to play Terry Rozier, and that kid can play. And you don’t want to overload with the young guys, because you run into the same thing where you have to cut a young, promising guy.
“I know Danny’s going to do the right thing, and a lot of teams might want that first pick, so maybe he can get some great things for it.”
If you didn’t know the aforementioned quote was from Turner, you’d swear it was plucked from the message board of a Celtics fan site. But in that it does, indeed, come from a former member of the club, maybe there are a few more pounds of heft in the opinion.
Turner still has some clear C’s loyalties, but, after signing a four-year, $70 million free agent deal with the Trail Blazers last summer, he has the perspective gained from being on the inside and then becoming an opponent. And he wasn’t exactly going easy on his old mates when he went for a dozen points in Portland’s 127-123 overtime victory at the Garden.
So Turner is not your average green-clad fan.
“The core they have now is really good, and they’re still young,” he said. “You may have to go get a veteran guy and not just get a young guy and have to wait around for him to develop two or three years down the line. Guys are going to be in their prime. That’s the time to strike.”
Turner added that the Celts can do a little striking in the meantime.
“I think they’re good,” he said. “Look, they were missing Avery Bradley. I think they’re really good. You look at their play-calling and how many guys they have that can make shots, I mean, they’re tough to beat.”
The problem lies at the other end of the floor, where the Celtics are surrendering 105.3 points a game.
“I didn’t know they were down like that,” Turner said, “but that’s tough to say, because I know those dudes can get stops, you know what I’m saying? When you’ve got defenders like (Jae) Crowder and a rim-protector like Amir (Johnson), Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, I mean, when you need them, I think it’s going to go your way more than it’s not.
“And those dudes are playing some good basketball offensively. Obviously the defense is not where they want it to be, but I think those guys can make some stops.”
The fact the Celtics are struggling in an area that used to be a strength is a concern, with coach Brad Stevens telling the Herald, “We’re just not good enough defensively. That’s the bottom line. We’re not good enough to win at the level we want to win if we don’t get better on the defensive end of the floor.” Turner agrees. “For where they want to go and who they want to be, yeah, you can’t joke around with a Cavaliers team or a Toronto Raptors team through seven games,” he said. “Your defense has to be there. If it’s not, eventually great minds like (Cleveland Cavaliers star) LeBron (James) and (the Raptors’ Kyle) Lowry, they’re going to figured out where to pick you apart. So right now your mentality is not who you’re going to play next, but more so being prepared for when April hits. I think they’ll get it together. You’ve got some guys over there that can guard, and if they keep working on it, the potential is going to pull through.”
And as for the big transaction by either next month’s trade deadline or prior to the draft and how difficult it can be to find a deal partner?
“I’m sure Danny’s got some favors he can call in,” Turner said with a smile.