Boston’s Evan Turner to sign 4 year, $70 million deal with Portland

A big chip fell in NBA free agency early on the first full day of permissible contract talks -- and from an unlikely source.

After an up-and-down start to his career in Philadelphia and an unmemorable, contentious cup of coffee in Indianapolis, Evan Turner seemed to have found solid ground with the Boston Celtics.

A staple in the Cs’ rotation, Turner teamed with fellow former Buckeye Jared Sullinger and former Butler coach Brad Stevens to help reestablish Boston as a perennial playoff staple.

Upon another free agency go, however, Turner’s elected to both potentially help his championship aspirations and make some bank in the process.

The Vertical’s oustanding Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting the former Ohio State Naismith Award winner is bound for Terry Stotts and the Portland Trail Blazers. For his troubles, Turner will collect $70 million over the life of the contract:

Turner had been rumored to be an option for Golden State if they were unsuccessful in their courtship of Kevin Durant, but it’s unlikely the Warriors would’ve had the cap room to be competitive with what Turner ultimately scored. With former Portland target Chandler Parsons widely expected to take a four year max deal with the Memphis Grizzlies, Turner proved the beneficiary as a very lucrative Plan B for the Rose City.

Best of luck to Turner on what should represent the prime of his career. Here’s hoping he and Damian Lillard are able to make some noise out west.