Another Hedo Update

by Myles A. Mills on July 4th, 2009 at 2:07 am

Via ESPN:

“Free agent forward Hedo Turkoglu changed his mind Friday and decided not to join the Portland Trail Blazers, opting instead to accept a $53 million, five-year offer from the Toronto Raptors, sources told ESPN.com.

The decision left the Blazers livid and was a huge coup for the Raptors, who have promised Turkoglu all of the salary-cap space they will have from renouncing their rights to Shawn Marion,Anthony Parker and Carlos Delfino, which will likely add up to a starting salary in the $10.1 million range, with eight percent annual raises.”

Blow in the face to the Blazers.  If I were Hedo I would much rather play in Portland with Brandon Roy and Lamarcus Aldrige than in Toronto but I guess the offer was better.  Hedo is going to get booed in Portland like Mark Teixeira gets booed in Boston and Baltimore.  In my opinion, Hedo is overrated.  He had a great 07-08 season when he won the Most Improved Player Award, but he kind of retrogressed this year.  He was clutch in the playoffs, and he’s versatile (he can bring the ball up for you at 6’10) but I wonder if $10 million is too much for a 30 year old who’s reached his ceiling, considering the 5 year commitment.  It befuddles me why teams with no shot of competing for a championship overpay for players as though they think these moves will put them over the top.  Detroit grossly overpaying for Charlie Villanueva and signing Ben Gordon, like that puts them up there with Boston, Orlando, and Cleveland.  Toronto is a playoff team now, but is this really going to keep Chris Bosh in Toronto?

About Myles A. Mills

Myles is a sophomore at The Browning School, an all-boys private school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He's been a Knick fan as long as he can remember, and 02-03 was the last season he could remember in entirety. He hopes to one day see the Knicks in the playoffs. Myles is also fond of the Mets, and follows them vehemently, but his the bulk of his time goes to the Knicks. Myles wants to be a radio hosts on WFAN or ESPN 1050 radio, and he hopes to write for theknicksblog.com for years to come. View all posts by Myles A. Mills →
  • 3dsoul

    so, can we get carlos delfino now? not shawn marion

  • Bart

    Now we should snatch up Delfino Mike D will be ecstatic to know that Carlos is FA he could add another peice to the Euro league team hes trynna build in NY and Delfino is a great player.

  • http://www.imgupdate.info/07/04/the-knicks-blog-%c2%bb-another-hedo-bupdateb-3.html The Knicks Blog » Another Hedo bUpdate/b | Img up date to you

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  • Chris Alvino

    Delfino maybe. i would love to S&T for Delfino, but I do not think that is posible with the team letting go of his rights. Delfino would only be a one year deal and would probably be our starting PG.

  • joetheknick

    Chris; I believe Delfino could replace Nate if he gets an offer we do not match. Is he really a starting point guard???

  • Cheech

    I thought delfino was more of a shooting guard. i dont think he would start att he point over duhon. but i would love to grab him.

    and anthony parker is another option. hes a 2 guard but he can run a little point too. and he can shoot 3s. i like parkers game. its very well rounded.

    And myles, i think why teams sign players when they know they will not be winning a championship is all about money. they need to bring in players to sell tickets. and thats how they make money. if hedo remains consistent and they retain bosh, calderon, and bargnani and if derozan becomes a decent player then they are a playoff team for the next 4-5 years. and that will make them a lot of money.

  • CircleLimit4

    Delfino is more of a SG but if we’re talking about bringing foreign players back from overseas perhaps we should look into Juan Carlos Navarro?