Evan Turner has gone from “The Villain” to a beloved player with the Boston Celtics. But he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer . . . so will they re-sign him?
Tommy Heinsohn thinks he’ll be back.
“Evan Turner knows he found a home,” said Heinsohn. “He’s the type of guy that I think would want to stay here because he believes in the organization. He’s that type of person.”
As much as Turner obviously loves Boston, there are still many other factors. The NBA salary cap is expected to rise to about $92 million, so Turner could realistically net over $10 million annually, possibly even close to $15 million.
Turner’s agent, David Falk, is notorious for getting every cent he can for his players. That’s one reason why Turner signed a short-term, two-year deal with the Celtics in the first place: to reestablish his value. Now, Turner will enter the market with many suitors.
Of course, Turner is incredibly valuable. He’s capable of defending multiple positions and he can play different roles on offense. Versatility is heavily valued in today’s NBA, and Turner brings that. He’s also a secondary go-to scoring option down the stretch of games, and has hit a number of big shots for the Celtics.
Many will cite Turner's horrific three-point shooting as a reason not to re-sign him. But what if he improves over the next few years? Turner has a proven high work ethic and could realistically develop his spot up skills to at least become a league average three-point shooter. If he does that, he'll become even more valuable.
Boston Celtics
Regardless, the price will have to be right for Evan Turner to re-sign with the Celtics.