Jason Quick of the The Oregonian reports Portland bosses Kevin Pritchard and Tom Penn made a play for Orlando free agent Hedo Turkoglu early Wednesday morning, just as Orlando's other major free agent -- Marcin Gortat -- was getting flowers from the Rockets. Two Western contenders pilfering the Kings of the East, how quaint.Portland is one of two teams (outside of Orlando) that makes perfect sense for Turkoglu from all angles. While the Blazers have a nice collection of small forwards, none offer the ball-handling skill that a team with shooter Steve Blake at point guard requires. Further, though Brandon Roy has shown to be a good leader, there's a real lack of veteran guardianship on the roster. As they say, Hedo has been there, done that.
Does a Hedo chase preclude offers for Jason Kidd or trade attempts concerning Steve Nash? Kidd has already been wooed by Dallas owner Mark Cuban, with the Knicks coming up any minute now. If the Hedo ploy falls apart, Portland likely won't be able to slip into the Kidd-stakes. Meanwhile, Nash seems to be the single veteran Steve Kerr actually wants to keep.
I would argue it's all for the best. Portland had an amazing offense last season, and a mediocre defense. A healthy, committed Greg Oden will likely do more for Portland's D than any free agent could hope to. But don't underestimate the damage a Kidd or Nash could do on defense. Hedo is a good two-way player, and the team won't lose much (if anything) on defense if Turkoglu replaced Nicolas Batum in the starting five.
It will be interesting to see what rumored offers come out, and how committed the Magic appear in the face of a big offer. One would guess the Magic would shrug and wish Hedo well, but Finals highs can do strange things in the NBA.
