According to veteran guard Evan Turner, the Hawks have talked with him and Chandler Parsons about being benched for “the foreseeable future.”
Evan Turner says Hawks have talked to him and Chandler Parsons about being inactive for the foreseeable future as team goes with younger players, per @GwashburnGlobe pic.twitter.com/pJgRHn8E1B
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) January 3, 2020
This has been a long-time coming. The plan at the beginning of the season was to use Turner as the team’s backup point guard, but he never settled into the role and has only played in 18 games, averaging 3.8 points on 38.1% from the field and 2.0 assists. While Bazemore was nothing to write home about in Atlanta, it’s hard to grade this trade – that was questionable at the time – anything higher than a failure. The next step for the two sides is usually a buyout, which will allow Atlanta to fill the roster spot with a player that has some potential and allow Turner to find a role on a more competitive team.
Parsons has never been apart of the rotation, only participating in five games so far this season, averaging 2.8 points on 27.8% shooting. He’s expressed his frustrations and wants more of an opportunity to play, but Atlanta is focused on developing their youth, not helping Parsons get his feet back under him in the NBA. There’s a chance the Hawks buyout Parsons, but he could also be involved in a potential trade for a player like Andre Drummond to make the money work.