Turkoglu agrees to terms with the Blazers
Although a verbal commitment may be announced sooner, the terms of the contract cannot be finalized until Wednesday when the NBA informs teams what the 2009-10 salary cap will be.
The Orlando Magic’s recent trade for Vince Carter, who has a large salary and plays small forward — which is Turkoglu’s position — made it highly unlikely Turkoglu would be back in Orlando.
The Toronto Raptors expressed interest in Turkoglu, but were constrained by their other efforts to keep Shawn Marion and Carlos Delfino.
Turkoglu, a 6-10 forward from Turkey who played a prominent role in the Magic’s recent trip to the NBA Finals, had been looking for a five-year deal in the neighborhood of $50 million.
Five years and $50 million is a lot for Turkoglu, who is already 30 years-old and isn’t particularly efficient statistically. But his game is a pretty good fit for the Blazers, who want to space the court for Brandon Roy. Turkoglu is a good enough shooter to do that, plus he can handle the ball really well for a small forward, which help to take the pressure off of Roy. In fact, with Roy at the two and Turkoglu at the three, there’s enough ball handling there that the team doesn’t have to play with a traditional point guard. This may open up minutes for Rudy Fernandez, who was reportedly upset about the Blazers’ interest in Turkoglu.
The other thing to remember is that the Blazers’ cap space wasn’t going to last. They have to sign both Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge to big extensions as soon as this summer and Greg Oden will be eligible for an extension next summer. It was sort of a “use it or lose” it scenario for the Blazers, and owner Paul Allen has never been afraid to spend. They added a versatile, experienced small forward who proved in the playoffs that he knows how to win. $10 million per season is a lot for Turkoglu, but his game should age pretty well, so at worst the Blazers should get quality play for the first three or four years of the deal.
What’s lost in all of this is the fact that Orlando will not be bringing back the core that went to the Finals this year. Chemistry is a rare quality and the Magic may rue the day that they brought in Vince Carter and waved goodbye to Turkoglu. After all, there were two overtime games in the first four, and the Lakers won both. Had those games gone the other way, the Magic would have led the series 3-1 with Game 5 at home to clinch the title. They didn’t need to tinker this much, and GM Otis Smith may eventually regret it.
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That’s right, I forgot about those overtime games. In fact, Game 2 had a controversial play at the end of regulation where Courtney Lee missed a layup on the inbounds pass but it appeared that Pau Gasol goaltended because his hand went up inside the rim cylinder rather than outside the cylinder (you can see in replays that his hand touches the net and goes inside the rim cylinder). Unfortunately for the Magic (fortunately for the Lakers), the goaltend was not called and the game went into overtime.
Who knew that would be the last time that the Magic would get so close to a title? As I mentioned in other posts, the Magic should’ve paid up for Turkoglu and paired him with Carter. Let them and Van Gundy figure out the fit/chemistry. I thought it was worth it to pay them and figure out any chemistry issues because they’re so talented. They needed all the talent/playmaking they could get as the Celtics showed in the 2010 conference finals. I know it’s easy for me to say that the Magic should’ve paid him because it’s not my money but, still, championship contention windows are so short. Got to go for it while you can.
Good points on both the Blazers and Magic. Even at the time (without the benefit of hindsight), it seemed like an overpay, like you said, but the general consensus was that he would live up to it for at least the 1st year or two. Who knew he would be an albatross from Day 1?
Good point on the Blazers not needing a traditional point guard since Roy and Turkoglu can handle the ball (and initiate offense). In the Magic’s case, they could’ve had Turkoglu initiate the offense (as a point forward like in the 2009 Playoffs), playing Nelson as the de-facto shooting guard. Nelson played more like an undersized shooting guard than a traditional point guard anyways. Turkoglu (and Vince Carter) seemed to play better without Nelson, probably because Nelson was ball-dominant and a shoot-first point guard. Maybe that would’ve unlocked the full potential of a Nelson/Carter/Turkoglu/Lewis/Howard starting lineup.
Too bad that Turkoglu wasn’t giving a hometown discount to the Magic for a legit chance at a championship (especially with Carter and a healthy Nelson) but I don’t blame him for chasing the biggest offer. I more blame the Magic for not ponying up the cash to match the Blazers’ (and Raptors’) offer. Yes, the Raptors’ (and the Blazers’) offer was an overpay even at the time (without the benefit of hindsight) but, as I said in my previous comment, championship windows are always shorter than expected. They could’ve signed cheaper backup big men than Gortat and Bass (even if they were good values) if they were concerned with the luxury tax; I’m sure they could’ve found good backup big men willing to take a discount for a ring.