NardDogNation wrote:BigDaddyG wrote:NardDogNation wrote:BigDaddyG wrote:NardDogNation wrote:I really like Evan Turner. All I think the guy needs is an opportunity, which he only got when the Sixers were bad. During that stretch, he performed well enough to justify dealing with his growing pains as a young player. Like I said in an earlier post, I could see the guy blowing up like John Salmons did during his half season with the Bulls and Bucks but with a longer shelf-life.
One issue Turner has that he will never be able to fix is that he's not a good athlete. He rarely makes it all the way to the rim and, when he does, he has tough time finishing. This means he has to settle for contested mid-range shots. His pull up J looks nice when it goes in, but he misses more often times than he connects with it. In order for him to be effective, he's going to have to learn to move without the ball, become a better spot up shooter, a more focused defender and learn how to become more of a complementary ball handler. He struggled with all those things when he played alongside Iguadola and Turner with Sixers. e's struggling in that role now with Pacers. I think he could become a good role player but I think there are probably younger, cheaper options out there.
To be fair, Brandon Roy wasn't a particularly stellar athlete but he was effective and allowed to be because he had the ball in his hands from day one. Sometimes we focus too much on what a player can't do, instead of what he can.
Turner is exceptionally long for his position, which will allow him to be a good team/positional defender. He is also a very good rebounder and good ball handler; a commodity in this league because it means that we'll be able to better push the ball off of defensive rebounds, speed up the game's tempo and get more shots in the process. And in spite of his shooting inconsistencies, Turner can still score well enough to not be a liability on the floor. That alone makes him better than anything we have at the 2 guard spot and in the triangle, I think his strength's will shine.
I think Brandon Roy was a much better athlete than you give him credit for. More importantly, a healthy Roy was a heckuva lot better shooter, ball handler and passer than Turner has shown during his career. That's why no one complained when Roy used up so many possessions. Another complaint with Turner is that he doesn't speed the game up, he tends to slow it down with his overdribbling. As far as his scoring, both JR Smith and THJ had better True Shooting and Effective Field Goal percentages than Turner. Turner's shooting percentages are almost identical to Shumpert's. Shumpert was smart enough not to realize that he shouldn't be shooting a lot. I don't see Turner providing an upgrade over what we already have.
I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. I respect your points and recognize them but see the circumstances under which Turner can overcome them. You point to his TS% and eFG% as being an issue but to some extent, those stats are every bit as representative of a player, as it is the team he plays for.
When it comes to the Sixers, they may have been the worst possible fit for Evan and had forced him to play to his weaknesses. They have consistently featured inside-out teams that clog the paint and have had poor floor spacing, which has forced Turner into being more of a jump shooter than he ought to be. On top of that, they have featured a number of guys to be primary ballhandlers when that has been Turner's M.O. since his college days. Because of that, he is unable to find a rhythm or level of comfort on the floor.
Considering the Knicks lack of a primary ball handler and the prowess of the triangle in providing floor spacing and driving lanes, I think Turner could become a big success here (based on what he CAN do). He has his flaws but is also only 25 years old and is smart enough to recognize and improve upon them. If all it takes to get him is money, I'd role the dice.
I didn't mean to give the impression that Turner's shooting is the only problem I have with him. If you look up stats on .82games you'll see that his defense is bad for a wing player. Also, he's kind of turnover prone and probably shouldn't be burdened with playmaking duties for long stretches. I gave Turner the benefit of the doubt this season, because I agree with you about Turner's first few seasons. He wasn't put in the best situations to succeed. This year was different. He was put in fast based offense and allowed to dominate the ball, but he still showed the same weaknesses and that he had earlier in his career. He goes to new situation in Indiana and nothing has changed. We already have a young wing player in THJ, a project wing player in Shump and a vet in JR. Turner doesn't brings nothing to the table that those three players don't. This team needs a PG help, defensive help at the forward spots and a list of other things. Any Turner talk should be tabled until the Melo situation is cleared up or any trades are made to the wing guys we already have.
Always... always remember: Less is less. More is more. More is better and twice as much is good too. Not enough is bad, and too much is never enough except when it's just about right.
- The Tick
