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Evan Turner, Chandler Parsons Benched by Hawks Ahead of NBA Trade Deadline
January 3, 2020
Atlanta Hawks forwards Evan Turner and Chandler Parsons are inactive Friday against the Boston Celtics in moves that potentially foreshadow their exits, per Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe:
Turner has averaged 3.3 points in 12.8 minutes over 18 games. A left Achilles injury forced him to sit for eight matchups earlier this season.
Parsons has played just 54 minutes over five games. A knee injury kept him out for the first 12 contests.
The rebuilding Hawks are all-in on their youth movement, with all five of their starters in their recent 101-93 win over the Orlando Magic in their first, second or third years in the NBA. Power forward John Collins was the elder statesman at just 22 years old.
Atlanta is playing out the string of the 2019-20 season at just 7-27, which stands as the NBA's worst record.
The future does look promising with the team rostering players with young potential in their early 20s, including Collins, point guard Trae Young and rookie forwards DeAndre Hunter and Cam Reddish.
But the growing pains have been real during a trying season in Atlanta that also saw Collins get suspended 25 games for testing positive for growth hormone releasing peptide-2 (GHRP-2). He denied knowingly taking any supplement with the banned growth hormone, per Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Solely focusing the team's playing time on the players connected with their future is the natural move with the team already eight games behind the final Eastern Conference postseason spot.