Veteran forward Evan Turner will continue his career in NBA as an assistant coach rather than a player. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, he is finalizing a deal to join the Boston Celtics as an assistant coach. He is expected to focus on player development in his role in Boston.
Turner has played for six different franchises in his 10-year long career in the league. He started in Philadelphia with the 76ers after they made him the second overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. He played as a Sixer for four seasons before being traded to the Indiana Pacers, where he played just half of a season. Then, he went on to suit up for the Boston Celtics from 2014 to 2016. He also played for the Portland Trail Blazers from 2016 to 2019, Atlanta Hawks from 2019 to 2020 and Minnesota Timberwolves in 2020.
Over the duration of his career, he appeared in 705 regular-season games and averaged 9.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists each game. He also appeared in 63 playoff games and averaged 7.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists during those games.
The 32-year-old was an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and earlier in the year he made it clear that he was looking to continue his career as a player.
In July, via Sports Illustrated, Turner said, “The physical part is all here.” “I’m smooth. I took this time to try and let my body heal up from some nagging injuries that never felt good. The coronavirus brought everything to a halt, but you use lemons to make lemonade and keep situations beneficial. I have grown and gained a lot of positives during this time. I’m looking forward to next season and getting back to a winning team.”
While Turner will not be continuing his career as a player, he will at least be getting back to a winning team as the Boston Celtics made it to the Eastern Conference finals last season, and face high expectations in the upcoming season.
