- The news that Trail Blazers swingman Evan Turner will miss 5-6 weeks comes just as the offseason acquisition was starting to find a rhythm in Portland, writes Mike Richman of The Oregonian. Turner’s absence could thrust Allen Crabbe and Moe Harkless into a bigger role defensively where Turner had been checking the opposing team’s most potent perimeter threat. In the same column, Richman also discusses the progress that Al-Farouq Aminu has made on the offensive end since being relegated to the bench.
- With a 23-31 record, the Trail Blazers remain very much in the hunt for the final Western Conference playoff berth (Denver sits in the eight-seed at 24-29) but TNT analyst Kenny Smith is skeptical that they have enough resources. “I don’t think they have a lot of talent, honestly. I think that’s the problem,” Smith said. Molly Blue of The Oregonian relayed both Smith’s and Charles Barkley‘s reservations about the guard-heavy roster.
9:46 PM: Turner is expected to miss 5-6 weeks and he will not require surgery, according to the team’s website.
8:14 AM: A challenging season for Evan Turner took another unfortunate turn on Tuesday, as the Trail Blazers swingman suffered a fracture in the third metacarpal of his right hand. The team confirmed the injury (via Twitter), though there’s no indication yet how much time Turner might miss.
Turner, 28, signed a massive four-year, $70MM contract with Portland in the offseason, but has gotten off to an underwhelming start with his new team. Turner’s averages in categories like PPG (9.7), RPG (3.8), APG (3.4), and FG% (.435) are down across the board, and as NBA.com’s advanced stats show, the Blazers been far more effective on offense without Turner on the court, with little change on defense.
While we wait for official word on Turner’s recovery timeline, it’s worth noting that injuries of this nature generally result in multi-week absences, so the Blazers will likely be without the veteran for the near future. During that time, players like Maurice Harkless and Allen Crabbe could be in line for increased roles.
Portland currently has a full roster of 15 guaranteed contracts, so if the team wants to add any reinforcements, a corresponding roster move would be required.
- The Trail Blazers have no interest in adding big man Larry Sanders, tweets Jason Quick of CSN Northwest. The team is too close to the tax line to take on any addition salary. Sanders, who seeks to return to the league after abruptly retiring in 2015, is making his rounds working out with various franchises in need of a big man.
The Trail Blazers will probably wait until the offseason to start making trades to decrease salary, writes Bobby Marks of The Vertical. Portland is looking at the highest payroll in the league next season and has gotten limited production in return, a half game out of the West’s final playoff spot entering tonight’s action. The Blazers have their own draft pick as well as Cleveland’s to offer, but Marks believes those will be more valuable in a possible June deal than they are now. Portland can also deal the contract of Festus Ezeli, who hasn’t played this season and has a $7.733MM salary for next year with just a $1MM guarantee through June 30. However, Marks warns that luxury tax concerns should make the team think twice about taking back any long-term deals.
Here are the D-League transactions from the day:
8:33pm:
- The Trail Blazers have assigned guard Tim Quarterman to the D-League, the team has announced on its website. He’ll suit up with with Windy City Bulls.
6:58pm:
- The Raptors have recalled Jared Sullinger, Bruno Caboclo and Delon Wright, tweets the team’s media relations department. In his lone game of action, a rehab stint, Sullinger scored 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.
- The Bulls have recalled rookie Denzel Valentine from their D-League affiliate, the team has announced via press release. The guard dropped 24 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists in his only performance.
- The Trail Blazers have one of the best backcourts in the league in Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, but they may need to break it up to build a contender, writes Michael Pina of RealGM. He suggests dangling both players in trade talks to see what kind of return they might bring, mentioning Andre Drummond, Jimmy Butler and Nerlens Noel as possibilities.
- In a Q&A with Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype, Damian Lillard reaffirms his love for Portland, suggesting that he’d like to stick with the Trail Blazers for his entire career, if possible. “Obviously, with this being a business, people’s feelings change about players. And players’ feelings change about organizations,” Lillard said. “I don’t think mine will, though, because I really like where I am and where I live and stuff like that. But you just never know.”
Here are Monday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- Bruno Caboclo and Delon Wright have been sent to the Raptors‘ D-League affiliate, the team announced today (via Twitter). The duo figures to be in action for the Raptors 905 tonight against the Texas Legends.
- The Pacers have recalled Rakeem Christmas and Joseph Young from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, according to a press release issued by the club. Both players have played sparingly for Indiana this season.
- Rookie forward Joel Bolomboy has been recalled to the NBA by the Jazz, per a press release. Bolomboy put up 19 points and nine rebounds for the Salt Lake City Stars on Sunday.
- The Trail Blazers are sending 2016 second-rounder Jake Layman on an assignment with the Windy City Bulls, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Portland doesn’t have a D-League affiliate of its own, so Layman will play for Chicago’s team via the flexible assignment rule.
- The Nets have recalled Chris McCullough from Long Island in advance of Brooklyn’s game against San Antonio tonight, the team announced in a press release.
Trail Blazers guard Evan Turner credits Celtics coach Brad Stevens with turning his career around, relays Josue Pavon of WEEI.com. Turner, the No. 2 pick in the 2010 draft, enjoyed limited NBA success before coming to Boston in 2014. He spent two years playing under Stevens before signing a four-year, $70MM deal with Portland. “He helped me figure out myself and a lot of guys in the locker room’s career, re-energized it,” Turner said of Stevens. “I just always thought he was a great, classy person. A sincere individual. Never thought he was too big and he does a lot of great things but I really appreciate the friendship I was able to form with him and get to know what type of guy he is. Very special person, special coach. It makes a lot of sense why he’s had so much success throughout his career because he’s a good individual and his mentality stuff has definitely helped me learn how to be a pro and how to see bigger picture, point of views.”
- According to Brett Koremenos of RealGM.com, the Trail Blazers are one of the NBA’s teams that finds themselves in no-man’s land, not good enough to contend for a title, but not bad enough to land a strong draft pick. Koremenos takes a closer look at how Portland got here, and what the next step is for a team that finds itself somewhat hamstrung financially.