Hedo Backs Out–Marion Available at Mid-Level?

Posted by Zach Lowe on Jul 4, 2009 26745 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2009%2F07%2F04%2Fhedo-backs-out-marion-available-at-mid-level%2FHedo+Backs+Out--Marion+Available+at+Mid-Level%3F+2009-07-04+16%3A05%3A09Zach+Lowehttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D2674

It’s July 4th, so I’m going to be quick: I’m sure you all know by now that Hedo Turkoglu backed out of his deal with the Blazers and has agreed–with his wife’s backing–to a similar deal with the Raptors. He apparently prefers Toronto’s frigid climate and diverse population to Portland’s beauty and hipster community. (And, yes, I enjoy reducing complex cities to stereotypes that take up five words or less. It doesn’t mean I believe those stereotypes are true. In fact, I’ve never been to Portland). 

Does this mean anything for the Celtics? I highly recommend you check out John Hollinger’s breakdown of the Turkoglu Ripple Effect, because he lays out every possible scenario. The main unknown that will determine what this could mean for Boston is whether Toronto will sign Turk in a straight-up free agent signing, or whether the Magic and Raptors will work out a sign-and-trade. If it’s the former–a regular old free agent signing–the Raps will have to renounce their rights to basically every free agent on their roster, including Marion and Anthony Parker. Those guys would suddenly be back on the market after Marion was reportedly close to re-signing with the Dinos, who were also working on a Parker sign-and-trade with the Cavs, according to Hollinger’s piece and other reports. 

And they would be coming into a market that would be considerably less competitive with the Raptors cap space gone, as Hollinger notes. Memphis blew its space on Randolph, the Kings and Thunder may stand pat, and Detroit’s space now belongs to Chuckles Villanueva and Ben Gordon, all of which leaves Portland as the last major player standing. And Portland does not appear to have any need for Shawn Marion. 

Which means Shawn Marion suddenly could be had for the mid-level exception. Everybody wants to know what Plan B would be for Boston is ‘Sheed picks the Spurs over the C’s. This could be it. 

I should offer the cautionary note that there are a lot of “ifs” in the above scenario, and the Magic in particular can muck it up by agreeing to a sign-and-trade. 

Two semi-humorous things of note:

• Chris Sheridan’s story about the Hedo U-Turn includes this pair of sentences: As for the Raptors, the signing signaled their intention of trying to immediately assemble a championship-caliber team that could present matchup problems for Orlando, Boston and Cleveland as they try to persuade superstar Chris Bosh to stay in Toronto when he becomes a free agent next summer.

Toronto’s projected starting five for 2009-10 now includes Turkoglu, Bosh, Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon and rookie DeMar DeRozan, with Reggie Evans, Kris Humphries and Roko Ukic the key reserves until general manager Brian Colangelo fills out the roster with minimum-salaried players.

Really? A championship-caliber team that can present problems for Boston, Orlando and Cleveland? Come on. That Raps roster could put them in the running for the 4th/5th/6th spot in the Eastern Conference, but that’s it. 

• There are a LOT of Turkish people in Toronto. Last summer during the Euro Cup, I was in Toronto when Turkey pulled off a borderline miraculous comeback to beat Croatia, 2-1, in the quarterfinals. (They scored two goals in the last three minutes or so of the game). We decided to take a walk around the city after the game, and discovered the city’s Turks were clogging up every street, driving around, beeping their horns, waving flags, etc. And I mean every street. We walked from Lake Ontario well past the Northern edge of the city, and there was no escape. (Not that I wanted to escape the Turks; the woman I was with happened to be Croatian, so she was not thrilled). 

So Hedo and his wife will indeed have plenty of company.