5 free agent signings NBA teams are already regretting
By Connor Learn
Most NBA teams are about ten games into the 2016-2017 season, but there are some free agent signings teams are already doubting.
NBA teams use free agency to help them bolster holes on their roster. Talented players have many suitors and bidding among teams drive up contract prices to risky levels.
This offseason saw record amounts of money spent, and not all of those deals will work out. It’s an inevitable result of free agency and happens to teams annually. The result is being stuck overpaying players for years, which can impair franchises. Though the season is young, there are five players teams probably already regret offering this summer.
Though the season is young, there are five players teams probably already regret offering this summer.
5. Evan Turner – Portland Trail Blazers
Contract: Four years, 70 million
Evan Turner was the second pick in the 2010 NBA Draft to the Philadelphia 76ers and was ultimately deemed a bust by the end of his rookie contract. Though he has become average to good in almost all aspects of the game, his outside shooting is poor.
Coach Brad Stevens put Turner in a position to succeed in Boston, utilizing him as a versatile ball handler off the bench. Trail Blazers General Manager Neil Olshey gambled that Turner’s skills would translate well to the Northwest and brought him in as his high-profile addition this summer.
Why this contract is already regrettable
Trouble began for Evan Turner in Portland right away, as Maurice Harkless outplayed him during the preseason and earned the starting small forward role. And while that was a red flag, it didn’t necessarily mean that the Turner signing was doomed. Theoretically, the Trail Blazers surrounding him with shooting should help bring out the most in his game. His strength as a secondary ball handler and versatile defense makes him a natural for the sixth man in Portland, albeit an expensive one.
Evan Turner has floundered off the Trail Blazers bench so far. His plus minus on the year is -102, which places him 405th out of 405 qualifying players. The gap between him and number 404, Jeff Green, is 12 points. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum have been forced to handle more of the scoring load this season as a third playmaker has yet to step up. It was a role Turner was supposed to fill, but he’s fallen to the third man off the Trail Blazers bench. He has appeared to have lost the confidence that he had in Boston. Based off of the early returns on this contract, Turner may be a bad decision for Portland.