NBA rumors: Celtics ‘would be interested in’ Evan Turner if bought out

Could an Evan Turner reunion with the Boston Celtics be in the cards?

The veteran forward was part of the four-team, 12-player trade reportedly agreed to Tuesday night between the Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets. Turner went from the Hawks to the Timberwolves in the trade, and since Minnesota is out of playoff contention with the second-worst record in the Western Conference, it wouldn't be surprising if Turner was bought out.

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If that happened, he'd become an unrestricted free agent able to sign with any team. Longtime NBA reporter Sean Deveney of Heavy.com reported Wednesday that "Should Turner get his buyout from the Timberwolves, his former employer -- the Celtics -- would be interested in bringing him back, a source told Heavy.com."

The Celtics reportedly aren't interested in trading their top five players before Thursday's trade deadline. It would, however, benefit the C's to acquire a player via the trade or buyout markets who can score off the bench. Boston enters Wednesday night's game against the Orlando Magic ranked 27th in the league in bench scoring at 29.1 points per game.

Celtics head coach Brad Stevens told reporters Wednesday that he does not anticipate any major activity from his team before the deadline.

Turner played for Boston in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. The Celtics wisely let him go in free agency in the summer of 2016, and he has failed to make much of an impact for the Portland Trail Blazers and Atlanta Hawks since departing Boston.