Turkoglu Headed Back To Orlando (Along With Others)

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, Hedo Turkoglu has been dealt to the Magic along with Jason Richardson in exchange for Vince Carter, Mickael Pietrus, and Marcin Gortat.  Also according to Wojnarowski, Gilbert Arenas will soon be sent to Orlando in a straight up deal for Rashard Lewis…

“The Orlando Magic are set to complete a pair of blockbuster trades that will send them Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas and Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson from the Phoenix Suns, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

As a prelude to the trade for Arenas, the Magic have agreed in principle to send guards Vince Carter and Mickael Pietrus, backup center Marcin Gortat, a 2011 first-round pick and $3 million to the Phoenix Suns for Turkoglu and Richardson, sources said.

The Magic also are nearing completion on a deal to send forward Rashard Lewis(notes) to the Wizards for Arenas, sources said. No other players or picks will be in that trade.

The Magic’s pursuit of Arenas escalated in recent days, and Yahoo! Sports reported Friday the teams were nearing a deal.

Arenas had privately told people for days that he believed a deal will soon send him to Orlando, where he’ll be reunited with Magic general manager Otis Smith, a friend and mentor from Arenas’ days with the Golden State Warriors. After losing five of their past six games, the Magic have shown more urgency to find a perimeter scorer who can help them stay a viable contender in the Eastern Conference.

Arenas has four years and $60 million left on his Wizards deal. Following his 50-game suspension for bringing guns into the Wizards locker room last season, Arenas became further expendable after Washington drafted No. 1 overall pick John Wall.

Lewis has three years and $66.5 million left on his contract, including this season.”

I’d heard lots of rumors about a potential Arenas trade, but I didn’t expect this Turkoglu deal at all.  He’s a huge winner here!  Toronto foolishly gave him the massive contract that Orlando wouldn’t offer, and now he gets to continue making big bucks while playing for his team of choice.  I expect his individual numbers to improve quite a bit as he’s re-joined the only team that I feel he will actually give effort for.

Jason Richardson will certainly thrive with the Magic as well.  He was already thriving with the Suns, and I think his scoring numbers will actually drop assuming the Arenas deal is finalized, but his style of play is a perfect fit in Orlando and he could be a key contributor on a very good team.  It’ll be interesting to see how Orlando works out their rotation with him, Gil, and Jameer at the guard spots.

If no one’s got Marcin Gortat in your fantasy league, add him right now.  I imagine he’ll be starting at center in Phoenix, and with increased minutes (plus Steve Nash setting him up with easy looks) he’ll put up career numbers.  Keep an eye on Brandon Bass too, his minutes and production will increase without Rashard in his way.

I think it was wise of Washington to get rid of Arenas, although I think they should’ve tried to get some expiring contracts instead of another overpaid underachiever.  Still, I’d rather have ‘Shard than Arenas if I’m in rebuilding mode, especially if the future of my franchise is a young PG named John Wall. 

I guess I like these deals for all teams involved.  The Suns get rid of a complete bum (Turkoglu) and receive a temporary replacement for J-Rich (Carter) as well as a young big man with lots of potential (Gortat).  Mickael Pietrus isn’t a bad throw in, either.  The Magic weren’t looking like they were going to get it done with the old crew, so why not shake it up a bit?  I still don’t think they’ll be able to get past Boston or Miami, but we’ll see how their chemistry comes along.  Oh, and I like any deal for Washington where they ditch Agent Dumbass.