After missing out on two of their top free agent targets in Hassan Whiteside and Chandler Parsons, the Blazers front office appears to be going rogue.
According to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Friday, the Blazers have agreed to a four-year, $70 million deal with former No. 2 overall pick Evan Turner.
To clarify on Turner to Blazers deal: Turner has agreed to a four-year, $70M free agent deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) July 1, 2016
Even under the new salary cap, this seems like a panic overpay for the 27-year-old Turner who averaged 10.5 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game, and 4.4 assists per game for the Celtics last season. Turner does a little bit of everything well, but doesn’t space the floor effectively, needs a requisite amount of touches to produce, and could take away minutes on the wing from the likes of CJ McCollum, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Allen Crabbe (if retained).
Wojnarowski also reports that the Blazers are in hot pursuit of six-time All-Star Pau Gasol, having made an aggressive offer to the Spanish big man.
Sources on @TheVertical: After agreeing to $70M deal with Evan Turner, Portland aggressively pursuing Pau Gasol. https://t.co/eiTG1JXNta
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) July 1, 2016
Gasol is still a nightly double-double threat, even at 35 years old, but hasn’t been fleet of foot in centuries, struggles to defend the pick-and-roll, can’t play at a fast pace, and would create a logjam in a frontcourt already populated by Mason Plumlee, Meyers Leonard, and Ed Davis.
The Blazers surprised many last season by winning 44 games and making it to the second round of the playoffs despite losing five of their six top players from the year before. Part of the way they pulled it off was by targeting undervalued, cost-effective young options on the free agent market. That seems like something they’ve abandoned completely this offseason, and it will be interesting to see how the rest of the roster comes together now.
