A former top pick of the Philadelphia 76ers, Evan Turner has agreed to join the Boston Celtics coaching staff.
For those who still followed Evan Turner after his Philadelphia 76ers tenure ended, might be sad to learn that the former second overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft has officially retired from the NBA as a player. However, he’s already found a new job according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Per Charania, Turner has agreed to take a job as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics, with an emphasis on player development. Sixers fans shouldn’t feel betrayed that Turner begins his coaching career with Boston over Philly in fact, it makes a lot of sense for the point forward.
The logic behind Turner choosing the Celtics instead of the Sixers.
First and foremost there are no indications that the 76ers or Turner had any interest in reuniting. With that being said, it isn’t surprising that there was interest between Turner and Boston.
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With the Sixers, he had nothing but overwhelming expectations as the second pick of the draft and a head coach in Doug Collins that didn’t like to play young players. It wasn’t a formula for success, however, it seems that the Celtics knew how to maximize Tuner.
Unlike during his tenure with Philly that was full of disappointment and unmet expectations, Turner’s run with the Celtics was the best of his career. During his two seasons in Boston, he had the highest assist and steal averages of his career more than any other team. He also averaged the second-highest scoring average with the Celtics as well.
He was used in an ideal role for his skill set as the primary playmaker in Boston’s second unit. The Celtics head coach Brad Stevens had Turner playing at a high level and used his playmaking skills properly. Turner should be able to learn under Stevens pretty well as an assistant moving forward.
Turner’s journey as a player is over, but his journey as an assistant is just beginning. Philadelphia 76ers fans should be wishing him nothing but the best of luck moving forward.