Transition to Trail Blazers not a smooth one for Evan Turner

The Portland Trail Blazers have yet to see any return on their $70-million investment in forward Evan Turner, whose early-season struggles are becoming more concerning by the game.

His numbers are down nearly across the board from his one-and-done season with the Boston Celtics. In his first 10 appearances in his new home, Turner is shooting just 38.7 percent from the field for six points in 23.6 minutes off the bench, along with 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists. His plus-minus rating of minus-110 is also 35 points behind the second-lowest rating in the league (Brandon Knight, minus-75).

Turner appears to be less and less engaged in the offense, with the backcourt of Damian Lillard (33 usage rate) and C.J. McCollum (27.2 usage rate) having the rock in their hands more often than not. As a result, the 28-year-old point forward isn't quite sure how he's going to add any value when his strongest skills are already accounted for in full.

"What can you possibly do?" Turner asked following his team's narrow 122-120 overtime win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday, according to CSN Northwest's Jason Quick. "When you get three shots and play 27 minutes … that's not a knock, because we have the best guards in the league, but I mean, what can I possibly do besides be accountable to defense, take care of the ball, rebound, and play the floor? Where I just came from, I had the ball in my hands tons of times to make plays."

Turner finished the night with just two points, four boards, and two dimes on four shot attempts in 22 minutes, while the Lillard-McCollum tandem took 43 shots combined.

"Obviously, everybody is paying attention offensively, and I mean, I think I'm playing the best I possibly can for the situation,'" Turner added. "It's not even 'I'm only getting three-or-four shots' … it is what it is. We've been winning, and that's pretty much it. I think I'm helping rebounding, defending, and I think I've gotten better taking care of the ball."

Head coach Terry Stotts is more optimistic about Turner's play, as he doesn't feel 10 games is nearly enough to judge whether or not a new player is fitting in on the hardwood. Sure, his offensive decline is very much apparent, but to Stotts, Turner's value on the defensive end in guarding multiple positions and being one of the few bright spots on a roster ranked 27th in the league in that department should be commended.

"I think everybody is kind of targeting Evan and I don't think that is necessarily very fair," Stotts said. "The game against (Memphis) he didn't take a shot and played very well. He's playing good defense, he's adapting … it's a process. He's a smart basketball player, has high basketball IQ and he is only going to get better."

Portland is hovering around in the middle of the pack in the highly-competitive Western Conference with a 6-4 record, and as long as the team continues to win, it should help deflect some of the attention off of Turner.

"What can you knock if you are winning?" Turner said. "These dudes are making the right plays, the right reads, and you fit in where you fit in. The (4-year, $70-million) contract is going to draw attention, but even if I didn't have a big contract I'm an easy target, so that doesn't keep me up. As long as we are winning, it's not about me."