The Atlanta Hawks have traded Kent Bazemore to the Portland Trail Blazers for Evan Turner is a swap of high-priced players heading into the final year of their contracts.
Bazemore was the last holdover from the Hawks’ 60-win team in 2014-15. The 6-foot-5 swingman lost his starting job midway through last season and is set to make nearly $19.3 million in the last season of a four-year, $70 million deal.
For the Hawks, Kent Bazemore averaged 11.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He shot 40.2 percent overall, 32.0 percent from the 3-point line and 72.6 percent from the charity stripe.
The drafting of De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish figured to cut into Bazemore’s playing time even more, leading to Monday’s trade.
Turner, the second overall pick in 2010, fills Atlanta’s need for a backup point guard behind rookie star Trae Young and is essentially a wash in terms of costs with $18.6 million left on his contract. The Hawks will be Turner’s fifth team in 10 seasons.
This past season with the Blazers, Evan Turner averaged 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists while shooting 46.0 percent from the field, 21.2 percent from beyond the arc and 70.8 percent from the free-throw line. The swingman only put up 2.7 points in the 2019 playoffs. The Blazers made it to the Western Conference Finals, but got swept by the Golden State Warriors.
Bazemore posted a gracious note to Atlanta on social media, saying he had a "lot of roots planted in this city" and thanking the team for "putting me in a situation to thrive."
The Blazers won this reported trade. Bazemore is a better scorer and shooter than Turner. Bazemore will spread the floor well for Portland, while Turner gives the Hawks another ball handler in the pick and roll game. Atlanta drafted Duke small forward Cam Reddish in the 2019 NBA Draft. The Blazers took Nassir Little.
Portland will try and make another run next season. The Warriors are likely going to be a depleted team in 2019-20 with Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant hurt.
