Leonard is simply the most baffling contract ever. He was offered a contract, turned it down to bet on himself, lost that bet...and Olshey handed him the same contract. I agree that he's not the largest albatross; he's not capable of being a big anything. The team can survive what he's paid--it's just baffling.
I like Evan Turner he gets bashed too much for his contract. It's not his fault that's what NEIL offered, unlike Crabbe who signed with another team with IMO every hope and intention that he would NOT be a Blazer. At least Turner chose to be here and has a tangible impact on the game, sometimes positive, sometimes not, but at least you know he's out there. Crabbe on the other hand.... not so much the occasional three is all you get oh and 19.5 mil with a 15% trade kicker.
Pretty sure most of us think of Crabbe and Turner on a similar level as a player. The problem was, crabbe had like a 2 million cap hold before we resigned him. People aren't happy we used the cap space on evan turner. Turner was surprised himself at how much he was offered. Neil basically bid against himself and started out way higher than anyone else. Many of us don't know what all was out there last year in terms of trades or who else could have been signed at a better rate, but that doesn't mean evan turner is ever going to make us feel warm and fuzzy about him. I mean, i think he is a cool guy and all, but, he isn't fulfilling his contract.
IF, and that's a big if we're a WCF contender a guy like Turner can be invaluable in the playoffs. Gets crafty buckets when no-one else can. He doesn't have to match the dollar value of his contract to be a worthwhile assets. This team needs to focus on DEFENSE. Especially dominating the front court, owning the key and winning the boards. Do that and scorers like Turner and shooters like Crabbe are damn nice to have around.
I guess I dont, really. I see turner as the better player, they score at about the same rate, but Turner does everything else on the floor at a superior level.
Regardless of how much you like or dislike Turner, the ultimate truth is that he must play better and more consistently than last year. Of course, he probably will due to the Nurkic effect alone.
I want to say last year was a aberration for Turner and he'll be back to his level of play he had with the Celtics and at certain points throughout the year last year. He was playing really pretty well right before he broke his shooting hand and had a predictable drop off after that. However, by the end of the year he had gotten back to a very solid level of play that can be sustained for the foreseeable future. I think a full year of health and more familiarity with his teammates will make all the difference for ET, I dont know Nurk plays that much into it.
