The Case for Turkoglu

Cons :

IMO Hedo is one of the worst wing defenders in the NBA. Slow laterally, poor man to man defense. The Magic had some great team defense on LeBron, but it was in spite of Turk.

He shot something like 41% from the field during the regular season.

After the 2009 playoffs, Hedo will demand a huge contract. I'm sure the Blazers could afford it, but it will require a long term deal and his cost will push the Blazers well into the Luxury tax territory until 2013-2014 once Roy and LMA are resigned.

Pros:

His passing will open up the Blazer defense and his experience with Howard should really help Oden's development.

Hedo is lights out from the perimeter and he's clutch.

My Opinion:

If the Blazers are to sign Turkoglu, the need to improve defensively at the PG position. Now that the Magic reached the finals, I am not sure Orlando will allow him to go.

KP talking about Nash??? Might be.

Bayless, Outlaw, draft picks, cash and filler

Not saying it is a great idea.

Just saying they might be talking

Thanks for the love, SJ. As an NBA fan in general, I really hope to see Hedo in a Blazers uniform.

If you're interested (and willing to forgive more self-promotion) I continued the conversation at my regular blog today (link above.)

Keep up the good work at RCP.

Scottie's D in a Blazers uniform didn't make anyone think 50 All-Time best either...

Just watch that damn NBA commercial. Kobe goes right, Scottie goes right. Kobe goes left, Scottie is back in Portland eating a hot dog.

I'm sensing Coup's longing for a Scottie Pippen-esque player to return to a Blazers uniform.

Every time I hear the term "point forward," I think of #33, God love 'em... Though Turk's D isn't going to make anyone think 50 all-time best.

The ability to handle the ball. He can play point forward, against Boston and Cleveland he's operated very well in the pick and roll, he's able to make plays for himself and others. For instance he just pump faked a three, drew a defender and kicked it to Alston for a three. He would take a lot of pressure off of Roy. Martell still hasn't quite gotten it down that he can do more than just hit spot up 3's. Every now and then he'll get some attack in his game but it's so inconsistent. If he does, different story, but the difference is I've seen it from Turkoglu in huge situations.

Yeah, but who are we going to get? Kidd? Andre Miller? I'll take Turkoglu over them thank you very much. Because in a hypothetical world, you could put Turkoglu at the 1 or have him handle the ball alongside Roy, slicing Blake's minutes a bit.

I'm all fine with letting Batum/Martell/Travis fight it out but the fact is one of them is eventually going to have to go. No room to play three guys, why not upgrade and get to make some trades?

ok i'll play devil's advocate.... other than "playoff experience", what does hedo offer that a younger martell doesn't? the whole blazers roster has playoff experience now (er...sans martell). Signing Hedo and praying we can offload other SF's scares me.

I want a veteran/scoring point guard to take pressure off brandon. Playoffs showed us that we need that didn't it? Let the little SF whipper snappers battle it out for minutes.

I've never heard a thing about Turkoglu having problems fitting in, deferring, or doing things like complaining about shots. The fact that he can play point forward is a huge plus, and he's a shot/playmaker. His defense isn't going to get much better, but that's where Batum/Martell could come in.

Really, there's only two worries I have with him. First, he's 30, and second what kind of contract would he need since, again, he's 30. If we could sign him (realistically) to a five-year deal with a team option on the fifth year, all for around, say, $55 million, then I'm all for it.

Of course, you better believe you can trade Webster/Outlaw for something usable. And I'd really hate to trade Webster.

Sign Turkoglu, then package him at the trade deadline with Outlaw and Bayless for CP3? Probably not, but the point is if you can get good talent at a reasonable price, you should always consider it and deal with the surplus later.

There isn't an argument in the world that suggests he wouldn't be a good fit. I love his game... but I wonder if he'd be willing to defer to Brandon and LMA?

Maybe I overestimate his role in Orlando. Thoughts?