Sports Radio Interviews

Hedo Turkoglu: There Was No Way Orlando Was Signing Me

When you think about it, the decision was probably pretty easy for Hedo Turkoglu to choose Toronto over Portland (stick with me for a second).  Yes, Portland has the superior team with superior talent, but also a more dominant ball handler in Brandon Roy – Hedo needs the ball in his hands to make things happen.  That’s a tiny reason right there; many others contributed.  Turk’s wife, Banu, would feel more comfortable within the Turkish community Toronto provides, he gets to stay in the eastern conference (which is closer to Turkey), and, not least of all was the money offered for his last big contract ($3-$6 million more in total).  Turkoglu joined The Dan Patrick Show to discuss how close he was in going to Portland, the lack of discussions with Orlando, and the phone call he received from Bryan Colangelo.

Was there any chance you were going back to Orlando?

“Not really.  A decision was made for both sides, so, they made a decision, they wanted to go that way, and I had to move on too and start a new life.  So, I picked Toronto; I think I made a good choice for me and I’m just looking forward to doing a lot of good stuff.”

How close were you to going to Portland?

“In free agency times, my agent, he arranged the teams for me to visit and Portland was one of them.  I went to visit, and that time I got a phone call from Bryan (Colangelo) and I changed it and wanted to come here because I feel really comfortable.  As a team-wise, as a basketball style-wise, because I’ve been watching them a lot… I thought it was gonna be great to me because they play uptempo speed, they got really good players.  I thought it was gonna be a great fit for me.”

Did you take it personally that Orlando went out to get Vince Carter, therefore making you expendable?

“I don’t what to say right now because the way it comes out, I think it’s worked out best for me because I’m in the best situation I can be in right now – I had a great welcome from Toronto, and I had to move on.  Like I said, I had a great time out there, I’m gonna miss the fans, they were great to me.  They were supporting me the whole five years I was there.”

Listen to Hedo Turkoglu on The Dan Patrick Show

Tags: Basketball, NBA, Orlando Magic, Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors