Former Portland Trail Blazers teammates Damian Lillard and Evan Turner are hanging out and working out during this NBA off-season. As is typical, social media maven Turner has something to say about it.
Today Turner posted a picture of himself, Lillard, and other NBA glitterati at the gym. That, in itself, isn’t unusual. But the caption beneath the picture is.
For those on mobile, for whom the dialogue is small, that reads:
Dame: let’s work like we don’t have a job
Tim and I: MF WE REALLY DONT!
Dame: I know, that’s what I’m saying!
Turner played for the Blazers between 2016 and 2019. He was part of the infamous “Summer of 2016”, the year in which the Blazers had copious free agent money and spent it on Turner and Festus Ezeli, plus re-signing Moe Harkless, Jake Layman, Allen Crabbe, and Meyers Leonard. None of those six players are still with the team, though Ezeli was technically still on the books until the 2019-20 season ended due to a stretched contract buyout.
The $70 million contract the Blazers gave Turner back in 2016 just expired, prompting the comment about “not having a job”. He averaged 3.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists for the Atlanta Hawks last season in 19 appearances. In February he became part of a four-team deal that netted Atlanta Clint Capela and Nene, but he could not reach a buyout agreement with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He sat out the remainder of the season.