Knicks: Evan Turner And Derrick Williams Future Role Players?

Could free agent wings Evan Turner and Derrick Williams be future role players for the New York Knicks?

At the start of the 2015 period of NBA free agency, the New York Knicks had roughly $30 million in cap space. Their free agency targets included Greg Monroe, Marc Gasol, and LaMarcus Aldridge, among others.

Unfortunately, $30 million doesn’t buy what it used to. The Knicks shot an air ball during free agency and came away with Robin Lopez, Aaron Afflalo, Derrick Williams, Kyle O’Quinn, Kevin Seraphin, and Sasha Vujacic as their new additions during free agency.

Not what fans, or New York media, were expecting to say the least.

After all, Phil Jackson was brought in to attract “big name” free agents to play alongside New York’s superstar Carmelo Anthony at the Mecca. Remember what Pat Riley did with LeBron James? He had him try on his rings during their free agency meeting.

That convinced James to take his talents to South Beach.

Well, as Jackson has often reminded us, he has 11 rings. That’s 6 more than Riley won while coaching. And yet no one was interested in taking their talents to Madison Square Garden. Now in the summer of 2016, the Knicks could potentially have anywhere from $18 million to, once again, $30 million in cap space.

The Knicks, like many teams this offseason, will target “splashy” free agents such as Kevin Durant, Mike Conley, and DeMar DeRozan. But if history is any indicator, these players will not be coming to play 41 home games in the world’s most famous arena.

Instead, Jackson will hope to find more players like Lopez—the Knicks’ most effective new signing last year. Let’s hope Jackson finds more effective signings like Lopez instead of ones that didn’t pan out like O’Quinn.

Enter Evan Turner.

Turner was drafted second overall in the 2010 NBA Draft. Do you know who else was drafted second overall in an NBA draft? Derrick Williams.

Turner, like Williams, was deemed a bust—especially after having an illustrious college career. Yet, Jackson gambled on Williams’ potential. That gamble, if all goes well, could pan out as Williams seems to have started reinventing himself with the Knicks.

One can argue that, after Lopez, Williams was the second-best new signing for the Knicks last year. Turner has already revitalized his career in Boston. A 6’7″ shooting guard, Turner is the type of big guard that Jackson loves.

He also shares a philosophy similar to Jackson. Turner stating during his interview with Maurice Peebles of Complex.com:

"“The future is in the mid-range. The mid-range is where the money’s at, man. I think the 3-point shot opens up the court and everything like that, but MJ and all those great players made all of their money out of the mid-range. So I’m not sorry for that at all. Evan M. Turner. For sure, ‘M’ stands for mid-range. Anywhere within 15 feet is cash. I’ll try to get better at 3s, but that’s my game.”"

Sound familiar?

Jackson infamously tweeted his thoughts about the 3 point shot on May 10, 2015:

Additionally, several media outlets began reporting Derrick Williams was on the Knicks’ radar prior to the official start to free agency last summer, including Al Iannazzone and Chris Broussard. Turner has been linked to the Knicks for some time now.

Alex Kennedy of Basketball insiders tweeted on June 6, 2016 that the Knicks are interested in Turner and vice versa:

All signs are pointing to Turner being the most realistic free agent for the Knicks to sign in July. What does Turner bring to the court?

Per ESPN, these are Turner’s stats the past two seasons:

At 27 years old, Turner has shown that he isn’t a complete bust after all. He is three years Williams’ senior. Williams may turn it around the way Turner has.

Williams signed a two-year, $8,998,000 contract with the Knicks in 2015. That sounds very similar to what Turner did when he was around Williams’ age with the Boston Celtics.

Turner signed a two-year, $6,703,510 contract with the Celtics in 2014. He is now entering unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2016.

His short term contract will now pay dividends as he is set for a much bigger payday. If the Knicks don’t over pay, Turner can provide additional support to a Knicks team that needs more than Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis.

Is it a Kevin Durant level signing? Of course not, but at the right price ($8 million per year), expect Turner to make a Lopez level impact in Jeff Hornacek’s offense.

must read: High-profile free agents whom the Knicks can realistically sign

Turner can be one of the many pieces Knicks add over the summer that can add stability and depth to a Knicks team that has lacked both the past few years.