LeBron James understands why Orlando brought Hedo Turkoglu back
Matt Moore
When the Orlando Magic reacquired Hedo Turkoglu this weekend in their
batch of megatrades, the biggest reaction was confusion. Why would they bring back Turkoglu, who had been let go in 2009 because the Magic felt his skills would erode with age, and then that exact thing occurred? He was a washout with Toronto after he signed his huge deal with them. When you signing elsewhere is something the Blazers are grateful for, you’re in bad shape. He was just as unimpressive with Phoenix. Who could possibly explain why the Magic wanted him back in blue?
LeBron James, that’s who.
From Wizards blog TruthAbou .Net, who caught up with James after the Wizards’
devastating loss to the Heat:
“I’ve thought that it was surprising when Turk (Hedo Turkoglu) wasn’t brought back the year after they beat us [Cleveland Cavaliers]. I just thought what Turk created for their team, that point-four created everything. He always created a mismatch and that was part of the reason why they beat us. There were times I would switch off onto Turk and they would go to Rashard (Lewis). Sometimes I would go on Rashard and they would go to Turk. We were too small on the perimeter during those years … I know they’re happy to have him back. It’s gonna be different, it’s going to be a different transition because I know when you break up a team and bring guys in it takes a while. We’ll see what happens.”
via
Truth About It » Quote Mix: Ten good minutes with a mumbling LeBron James.
James has had his fair share of experiences with changes to contending teams. His Cavs made several moves mid-season to try and get them over the top, including acquiring Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak (yes, this was a real plan), and another move to acquire Antawn Jamison. Of course, that neither move wound up netting the small-market Cavaliers a championship, nor did they keep LeBron James in town should not go unnoticed as everyone starts glancing at Dwight Howard out of the corner of their eyes.
It was revealing though to read James’ comments about the Magic’s ability to work over a stout Cavalier defense in 2009 with Turkoglu running point forward. It was that mechanism that could kick start defensive rotations to cover, enabling the Magic to find the open three-point shooter. The Cavs weren’t the only team that fell victim to that tactic though, as the much heralded Boston Celtics also lost to the Turkoglu Magic. But of course, you have to mention, everyone together, say it with me…
Kevin Garnett didn’t play in that series.
It was two years ago, and hoping for a repeat of that performance is probably a fool’s errand considering the inevitable downward slide of Turkoglu’s abilities which have already lost quite a bit, and Boston being some sort of beast sent to destroy us all this season. But if you’re looking for why Orlando might think it that important, James points out a salient point.
Also, he thinks Justin Bieber is a “cook kid, man.” So there’s that.
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