Two years removed from an NBA Finals appearance in which they lost in five games to the eventual back-to-back World Champion Los Angeles Lakers, the Orlando Magic get a much needed makeover to go along with their new arena. Whether or not the pieces fit, is yet to be determined. With the Celtics continuing their dominance, and the Heat finally finding its groove, Orlando general manager Otis Smith worked his magic (no pun intended) in hopes of keeping up with the rest of the top dogs in the Eastern Conference. After an early season skid that not even 'Superman' Dwight Howard could stop from happening, dropping 5 games in a 6 game span, Smith traded Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat and Michael Pietrus to the Phoenix Suns for Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Earl Clark.
The blockbuster moves didn't stop there, as Rashard Lewis was sent to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Gilbert Arenas. Though it may not be the biggest acquisition of them all, it may be the most surprising, as it seemed the Wizards couldn't give Arenas away after last year's gun incident that resulted in an indefinite suspension that saw the self-proclaimed 'Agent Zero' miss a good portion of the 2009-2010 NBA season. When being told about the acquisition of Arenas, Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy said he was unsure on how he'd fit him into the system, which may include him coming off the bench. With plenty of talent in the point-guard department with the likes of J.J. Redick and Jameer Nelson, that may not be a bad thing, leaving Stan Van with a number of options.
Although the lethal three-point shooting weapon of Rashard Lewis will be sure to be missed, the big man presence of Marcin Gortat has to be Orlando's biggest loss considering how much of a drop in size they'll suffer, making it easier for teams like the Celtics to utilize their bigs. The biggest addition on the other hand, is Hedo Turkoglu who played a key role in the Magic's Eastern Conference Championship in '09. Since leaving the squad, Hedo has run into some trouble with the organization he formally signed with last year as a free agent (Toronto Raptors), before being traded to the Suns where his numbers have only regressed. While it's unknown if Turkoglu can reincarnate himself back into stardom for Orlando, the deal was worth a shot considering how much of an upgrade they got in Jason Richardson over the elder Vince Carter.
C'mon Party People - After a trip to the 2008-09 NBA Finals with the Orlando Magic, Hedo Turkoglu was involved in a four-team trade that sent the first ever Turkish-born player to the Toronto Raptors. Coming off a big year in which he and teammate Dwight Howard played conductor in Orlando's second ever trip to the NBA Finals and first since 1995, Turkoglu and the Magic seemed to finally get on the same page. But instead, Hedo decided to opt out of his contract, resulting in the deal that sent him North. With a new five-year, $53 million dollar deal in hand, big things were expected from the Turkish Olympic silver medalist. However, things haven't gone exactly as planned, as both Turkoglu and the Toronto Raptors have struggled all season long.Although the Raptors (37-37) are currently at the helm of the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference, their grasp of the final playoff spot is slowly slipping away as Chicago remains in their rear-view mirror some 1.5 games back with less than 10-games remaining in the regular season. In need of all the help they can get, Turkoglu sat out during last Friday's game against the Denver Nuggets. A game in which Toronto went on to lose, helping the Bulls inch closer to the postseason. The reasoning for Hedo's absence? A stomach virus. But although the illness kept him from playing that night, it didn't keep him from partying it up. In fact, later that night Hedo was spotted by fans paying the local nightclub a visit. With e-mails of Turkoglu's whereabouts flying in to team officials, it wasn't long before the media did its thing. After a displeased front office and fan base, the team issued both a fine and a benching in the Raptors' game against the Miami Heat.With Raptor fans on to his every move like TMZ cameras on Octomom, hopefully Hedo learns a lesson out of all this. Besides, if Toronto does happen to make the postseason, it shouldn't take more than four games for the number one seeded Cleveland Cavaliers to bounce them out of the playoffs, giving Turkoglu all the time he needs to pop bottles and get his party on. When asked for his opinion on the people of Toronto watching him like a hawk, Hedo went on to say, "It's all good, man. I've been dealing with this stuff the whole year. They've been on me on this going out the whole year long. If I wasn't out, sick or healthy, they would still say something. I don't say anything. Ten games left of the season, all I try to do is finish strong." With an attitude like that, I wouldn't be surprised if the man tried tanking a few games on purpose, just to get the season over with. To put some more fire under their ass, the Raptors will match-up against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday April 11th. A game that just might decide the fate of both teams' playoff hopes.
