NJNJ Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 http://www.blogcdn.com/nba.fanhouse.com/media/2009/12/hedo-ref-1209-200-1261023665.jpg ORLANDO -- The money is too good for Hedo Turkoglu to have any kind of regrets. It's the Toronto Raptors who might be having second thoughts now. They may have given a star's contract to a not-so-star player. Winning the offseason chase for a high-priced free agent comes with no guarantee -- except that the payroll will rise. The Toronto Raptors committed five years and $52 million this summer to lure Turkoglu away from the Orlando Magic, only to watch him struggle through this early-season adjustment, failing to deliver the kind of big-money return they wanted. "It's not the kind of start we had hoped for (from Turkoglu),'' said Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo Wednesday evening before the Raptors lost to the Magic. "But it's probably the kind of start that most people expected. It's just too early to come to any conclusions.'' His scoring (14 points per game), rebounding (4.8) and assist averages (4.0) all are down from the last two seasons when he carved a reputation as a late-game, go-to scorer on a legitimate contender, helping the Magic reach the NBA Finals in June. Colangelo figured that Turkoglu would start slowly, coming off the Magic's extended playoff run through June, the draining free agency uncertainty, and the two months with his Turkish National team that played through September. But he did expect a little more than this. "He was so fatigued that when he got to us (at the start of training camp), he had nothing in the tank, absolutely nothing,'' Colangelo said. "Emotionally and physically, he was empty.'' CONTINUE READING Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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