Jul 03 2009
Pritch-Slapped
Now it’s official. Well, quasi-official. Hedo Turkoglu is going to be a Portland Trailblazer.
We’re spending every dime we have right now on a guy that barely improves the team, is as overrated a shooter as there is in the NBA, and has as inflated a reputation for clutch heroics as Chauncey Billups.
In the next few years, whether we have success (and that success can only be a championship now, and nothing else) or withering, horrible defeat, this decision will be one we look back on. It will be the one where we say, “Wow, he thought ahead of us and made the move to make us a title-winner,” or, if we lose, many of us will be justified, saying, “This terribly short-sighted move just cost the team a championship. Every move that he made up to now means nothing. He made a deal that Bob Whitsitt would have shaken his head at.”
In the name of quick potential improvement, we may have just sold out our long-time goals. We signed a player that will stunt the growth of Nicolas Batum and Rudy Fernandaz, guys whose potential is much higher than Hedo Turkoglu could ever dream. We signed a declining player who can’t play defense in a contract year just because he had a good postseason performance. This could be the decision that may undo the team in the long run and keep us from getting over the top. Hopefully I’m wrong.
But for now, I’m feeling Pritch-slapped.
