By RaptorTalk

I’m not sure who is more responsible for Hedo Turkoglu’s surprising signing with the Raptors and I suppose I don’t care because Hedo’s here now.

For the record, those who played a role in this decision in order of importance are as follows.

          

First, there is Bryan Colangelo who was doggedly persistent in his pursuit of Hedo. Seems that Bryan’s conversation with Hedo last season at a Toronto Steakhouse laid the groundwork for Turk’s eventual arrival in the Big Smoke as a Raptor. Bryan wouldn't quit, even when all signs pointed to a signing in Portland.

Second, there is Hedo’s wife Banu, who reportedly prefers a more European and cosmopolitan city like Toronto, than she does small, rainy Portland. According to agent Lon Babby, Banu and Hedo can't wait to be part of Toronto's Turkish community.

Third, there is the combo of Shawn Marion and his agent, Don Fegan. After turning down a $10 million per year extension from Miami, they continued to misread the NBA salary landscape. Seems the Raptors offer of $7 to $8 million wasn’t good enough. Based on Fegan’s history to hold out his clients as an extortion ploy (see Varaejeo in Cleveland), Bryan decided to pull and end around and go hard after Turk instead.

Now Marion is left searching for a $5.6 million MLE somewhere. Serves him right, if you ask me. Nothing I dislike more than greedy athletes and their agents.


A change of heart on the Hedo signing

A week ago I was against signing Hedo, simply on a gut level because of his age at the back end of the deal. But when you look at the Turkoglu signing logically, there are many more good points than bad with this deal.

Since RaptorTalk was launched, we've repeatedly pointed to the massive hole at the three spot as the number one weakness on the Raptors. Toronto could never win consistently without a quality wing player. Now they have filled that gap in their roster. Hedo is a definite upgrade over the likes of Marion, Moon and Kapono to name a few.

Five years/ $53 million means that Hedo starts at $9.0 this season and goes up to $12 million in the fifth year. This not an expensive acquisition compared to many other starting NBA threes. Because Hedo does not play an athletic game like Shawn Marion, his game should age well throughout the term of his contract.

Let’s be clear as to Bryan’s motivation to swing for the fences with this signing. It is to keep Chris Bosh in Toronto. Clearly, Bryan doesn't make this move if he intended on trading Bosh on the off season. No way.

Based on Bosh’s tweets and Facebook posting, he is very pleased with the signing. A winning team with a solid future will give Bosh every reason to stay put here, in addition to the $30 million more he gets from Toronto.

Hedo, Bargs and Bosh now form a very imposing Toronto frontcourt which makes double teams on Bosh less likely.  Another reason for Bosh to like the deal. Offensively, this will be a fun team to watch. On the other side of the ball, if Marc Ivaroni can get the Raptors to play defence, then Toronto could have a very good 09-10 season.


Winning teams are built on stars

In the new NBA, winning teams are built around a core of 3 or 4 star players. Elite talent wins. That’s the formula that every successful team has used recently from Boston to LA to San Antonio to Orlando.

A starting five of Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani, Hedo Turkoglu, Jose Calderon and possibly DeMar DeRozan has the potential to be the strongest unit ever in Raptors history.

If DeMar DeRozan evolves into say a Richard Jefferson type guy, then the Raps have a very solid nucleus in place. Bryan will add more pieces this summer and should really be able to fill in the gaps in 2010 when he has access to more money to spend.

The challenge for Colangelo (and one of the negatives of this deal) is that Bryan had to renounce his free agents to make room for Turk. Now he needs to be very creative in filling out his roster. As we learned last year, a lack of bench depth can destroy a team’s chances of winning consistently. The good news is that there are plenty of solid free agents available with very few dollars remaining anywhere. Toronto could be an attractive one year option.

The Raptors’ starters should make this a winning team. For someone looking for minutes and a chance to win, this may make Toronto a more appealing destination for the free agents who will eventually fill out the roster.

               

A gamble worth taking

Like the DeRozan draft pick, the acquisition of Hedo is a gamble. At the end of the day, it is a gamble worth taking and one which could propel Toronto into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference in 2010.

Give Bryan credit. He doesn't sit still. He landed arguably the most sought after NBA free agent in 2009. Hedo fills a glaring hole in Toronto’s roster at a starting price of $9 million. I certainly can live with that when you consider that elite small forwards run the gamut from $9 million per year up to T-Mac’s whopping $23 million next season.

I give this bold move by Colangelo a solid B+. If Bryan can work some magic (pardon the pun) and bring in much needed depth, then this deal becomes an A.

Can’t wait to see Colangelo’s next move.