Evan Turner's agent: 'Boston all along has probably been our No. 1 destination'
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The Boston Celtics reportedly signed free agent Evan Turner on Monday in what appears to be a very low-risk deal for the rebuilding team.
According to the Boston Herald, the 2010 second-overall NBA draft pick will receive a portion of the Celtics' mid-level exception. Turner's agent David Falk acknowledged the agreement Monday night, and noted Boston was in discussion with Turner's camp "nearly every day" since July 1.
"Boston all along has been probably our No. 1 destination," Falk said. "I felt what Evan needed was to kind of replicate the relationship that he had with coach Brett Brown in Philadelphia ... We were really looking mostly for an environment more than geography."
Turner played at Ohio State for Thad Matta, Celts' coach Brad Stevens' former Butler boss.
“I think he was probably the most undervalued free agent on the market," Falk said. "Evan was in a dramatically different situation the day before the deadline than he was when he finished the year. He didn’t get a lot of playing time in Indiana unfortunately.
“But that’s history. There’s nothing we can do to change that. This is a situation where he can come and grow as a player. I think Brad (Stevens) realizes he’s a multi-dimensional player.”
Falk admitted bias to the Herald, but explained that the February trade from the 76ers to the Indiana Pacers in February hurt Turner's shot at landing a bigger deal - he suggests in excess of $10 million a year.
Turner averaged 17.4 points on 42.8 percent shooting, 6.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 54 games for Philadelphia before seeing a substantial slip in his 27 games (and fewer minutes) with Indiana.
“I think if you’d asked most GMs in February when Evan was averaging 17, 6 and almost 4, I think they all would have expected that he’d be a treasured free agent,” Falk said. “Unfortunately in the NBA, we tend to be very trendy. When you’re up, you’re really up. When you’re down, you’re really down. Sometimes people don’t modulate in the middle.”
Falk added teams were interested in Turner on both one-year and multi-year deals. Terms of the pending deal with Boston haven't been disclosed.