Less than 48 hours after losing to the LA Lakers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu announced that he will be opting out of the final season of his six-year contract worth $36 million and testing the free agent market this summer. June 30 is the first day players can declare for Free Agency.
There are rumors that the Pistons might pursue Turkoglu, perhaps in the sign-and-trade type fashion involving current Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince. Tayshaun and Turkoglu's career stats are nearly identical, although Prince shoots at a little higher percentage. The thing with Turkoglu is that he has come on stronger the last couple seasons with the Magic whereas Prince's career numbers have been rather consistent over the past five seasons.
In addition to career statistics, a trade of Prince for Turkoglu would probably match up financially, too. Turkoglu was set to make $7.3 million next season, but may get closer to Prince's $9.5 should he follow through with opting out and a sign-and-trade occur.
Prince's struggles in the playoffs the past two years do not match up to the level of Turkoglu's clutch play this post-season and his solid output last year in the Magic's first round loss to the Pistons, though. This rumored trade could be a case of giving Tayshaun Prince a fresh start while giving the Pistons a new look with a player who has had a pair of quality post-seasons. For the record, Turkoglu is eleven months older than Prince.
Would Turkoglu make a good fit with the Pistons? Even with Prince's less than desirable play in the past couple playoffs, I still believe Tayshaun is the better defender while Turkoglu would probably provide more on the offensive side. I'm all for a fresh look and Dumars has certainly been preaching change, but I won't condone change just for the sake of change. If Dumars and the Pistons believe Prince's best days in Detroit are behind him and Turkoglu can provide a much needed spark, then I'm all for it.
What does everyone else think?