Atlantic Notes: Celtics, DeRozan, Embiid, Knicks

Evan Turner is no longer a member of the Celtics, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have some suggestions for GM Danny Ainge on the team’s next move. As Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald details, Turner praised Boston’s young core, but said that adding a veteran player and improving team defense should be priorities for the club. And he even has an idea of what the C’s could offer to upgrade their roster.

“I think you’ve got to probably trade that (2017 Nets) pick,” Turner said, suggesting that the Celtics can afford to give up a top pick in a draft heavy on point guards. “I mean, if you have to take a point guard, you’ve got Isaiah (Thomas) playing how he’s playing, and Marcus (Smart) is developing. There’s no room. You barely get to play Terry Rozier, and that kid can play. And you don’t want to overload with the young guys, because you run into the same thing where you have to cut a young, promising guy. … I know Danny’s going to do the right thing, and a lot of teams might want that first pick, so maybe he can get some great things for it.”

As Ainge takes Turner’s suggestions into consideration, let’s check in on a few more items from around the Atlantic…

  • A pair of Atlantic stars are out of action for the next few days. Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan will miss at least two games for Toronto before his ankle sprain is re-evaluated, according to the team (Twitter link). Meanwhile, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link) that Joel Embiid is expected to return to the Sixers on Friday after missing three games.
  • The Knicks finally managed to pull out a clutch victory on Monday night against Indiana, much to the relief of head coach Jeff Hornacek. “We lose another one like that, guys probably would’ve quit, called it a year probably,” Hornacek said, per Mike Wells of ESPN.com. While Hornacek may be exaggerating a little, another bad loss on Monday likely would’ve intensified calls for a rebuild in New York.
  • Speaking of the Knicks‘ roster building, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News provides a list of the 10 worst moves Phil Jackson has made since taking over as the club’s president.
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