Saturday, July 4, 2009 10:51 AM
Colangelo works fast and hard to get Turkoglu
Michael Grange
I’m sure at one point the story of how Hedo Turkoglu became the latest member of the United Nations of the NBA will come out, but for now the details are being closely held as the deal works its way to being official.
When that might happen isn’t clear either. Technically it can’t be until this Wednesday at the earliest after the NBA’s salary cap is set and actual numbers can be put on paper. But my sense is that it might take a bit longer because there might be some sign-and-trade pieces at play.
I’m sure at one point the story of how Hedo Turkoglu became the latest member of the United Nations of the NBA will come out, but for now the details are being closely held as the deal works its way to being official.
When that might happen isn’t clear either. Technically it can’t be until this Wednesday at the earliest after the NBA’s salary cap is set and actual numbers can be put on paper. But my sense is that it might take a bit longer because there might be some sign-and-trade pieces at play.
What I do know is that this deal came together fast and hard. As of 5:30 p.m. I had a Raptors insider text me saying, basically, to ‘enjoy the weekend, there is nothing going on’. Five hours later Turkoglu has a tentative deal in Toronto and I’m standing outside a bar trying to confirm and write a news story on my Blackberry while under the influence. Given that Turkoglu was in Portland and all indications were that he had agreed to a five-year, $50-million offer from the Trail Blazers, that’s a pretty major reversal.
There’s a lot to like about this move. For the first time that I can think of – certainly post-Vince anyway – Toronto has a player who can score and create late in the clock, late in games. With his ball-handling skills, size and all-around offensive game Turkoglu creates endless problems for defenses in pick-and-roll action. Consider that he’ll be running that action with Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani, two of the best shooting big men you’re going to find, and it should be really fun to watch. The downsides are obvious: rebounding comes to mind, and exactly who is going to score on the second unit is the other, but that’s for another day.
Say this about Bryan Colangelo; boring he’s not.
