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Turner, Russell, Bates-Diop Sent Packing in NBA Trades

Former Ohio State hoops stars get dealt, which continues strange tradition
Bruce Hooley|
Turner, Russell, Bates-Diop Sent Packing in NBA Trades
Turner, Russell, Bates-Diop Sent Packing in NBA Trades

What happened to Keita Bates-Diop this week shouldn't have been a surprise if he's been paying attention to the NBA careers of Ohio State greats who came before him.

Even one who came way before him.

Bates-Diop, the 2018 Big Ten Player of the Year, was among those involved in a multi-team trade that will take him from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Denver Nuggets.

That deal also included former Buckeye Evan Turner, a 2010 consensus All-American and national player-of-the-year at OSU.

Turner will now be teammates in Minnesota with the best player Ohio State has had since him, D'Angelo Russell.

Golden State dealt Russell to the T-Wolves on Wednesday.

Minnesota will be Russell's fourth team in five seasons and Turner's sixth in 10 seasons since both were the No. 2 overall picks in the NBA Draft following their respective exits from Ohio State.

Russell's and Turner's frequent-flyer existence only mirrors that of the best and most highly-decorated player at Ohio State in the last 30 years, 1992 Player of the year Jim Jackson.

Jackson, a two-time All-American, was the fourth overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft of the Dallas Mavericks. He stayed there for four-plus seasons, but then wound up playing for more franchises than every player but one in NBA history.

Jackson, despite a career scoring average of 14.3 per-game over 14 seasons, was on the active roster of 12 franchises in a career where he was traded seven times.

That's the brutal impatience of the NBA, where if you are taken to be a transformative player and do not deliver on those expectations immediately, you're likely to be thrown on the merry-go-round of multiple teams in multiple seasons.

PlayerNBA seasonsNBA franchisesCareer scoring averageCareer minutes average

Jim Jackson

14

12

14.3

32.8

Evan Turner

10

6

9.7

26.9

D'Angelo Russell

5

4

17.3

28.9

Russell and Turner are productive players, but they're not No. 1 options capable of lifting teams on their shoulders and both have also had bits of off-court drama that may have contributed to their journeymen status.

Turner got involved in a practice scuffle with NBA bad-boy Lance Stephenson while an Indiana Pacer and contemplated giving up the game.

Russell took off-court drama to a new level by secretly filming Los Angeles Lakers' teammate Nick Young confessing to cheating on his finance, Iggy Azalea.

Jackson would rank first, Turner second and Russell fifth (behind Michael Redd and Michael Conley) on the list of the best OSU players of the last three decades.

Turner (26.9) and Russell (28.9) have each averaged more than 25 minutes per-game in their NBA careers. Players who receive that much time average playing for 3.8 teams during their careers.

Jackson averaged 32.8 minutes over his 14-year career, a work load which on average has limited NBA players of that caliber to playing for three different franchises during their career.

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Bruce Hooley
BRUCE HOOLEY

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