Hindsight is the clearest of all visions. The Trail Blazers may have learned some big lessons here. At least I hope they did. But even if Hedo Turkoglu completely double-crossed them, the Blazers made some real mistakes. A few random observations:

–  First, you never, NEVER bring a guy to town in a free-agent situation unless he’s going to sign. It’s just not done, at least in a public way like this one. And if you’re not sure he’s going to sign and you need to bring him in, you don’t turn it into a media event. There was no excuse for that to turn into a media opportunity. Fly him in on the team plane and keep him out of sight. It’s most often done that way. I keep thinking of poor trainer Jay Jensen, standing there sheepishly in the airport having to hold up that sign welcoming Hedo in two languages. Ugh. This was so unnecessary. My goodness — this isn’t some goofy college deal where you bring the kid into the gym and show him his jersey hanging in the rafters and make a big fuss. I’m not even sure you send all the brass to meet him at the airport. You recruit NBA free agents with your checkbook, not a guide to your city’s best restaurants and nightspots. That stuff comes after he signs. It’s a business.

– I wrote a few days ago what everyone knew all along with this guy: It’s ALL about the money. People now are saying, “Hey — the money in Toronto wasn’t that much more. It was a combination of things.” Well, you can think that if you want, but it probably WAS all about the money. Even if it was only half a million. I wrote again about this yesterday — that it bothered me that this guy comes off as a total mercenary and that he appeared not to have any loyalty toward a team that just went to the Finals. So do you now understand why he didn’t seem to have any problem walking out on the Blazers yesterday? He had just walked out on a whole locker room full of guys he went to war with in the playoffs.

– When I say these things about Turkoglu, I’m not meaning to rip him. It’s his right to be this way. A lot of money is at stake and he’s doing what’s best for himself. In pro sports, you don’t often have a chance to pick your team and name your price. Ask Rudy Fernandez. But if you are doing business with a guy in that situation you have to understand the ground rules.

– By the way Portlanders, Toronto IS a heck of a city. It’s New York without the stink. That a guy would rather live there than here is no surprise and you shouldn’t be offended. Think SkyDome vs. PGE Park. That’s the difference between Toronto and Portland. “Keep Portland weird” is probably never going to be a viable recruiting slogan when it comes to NBA free agents.

– Is there a Plan B? Well, I’m sure they’ll say there is.

 – It still all goes back to the Darius Miles affair. Giving him the big contract was a huge mistake. Without that deal, there was plenty of room to sign Turkoglu and anyone else out there. And don’t talk to me about Memphis and that whole mess of trying to get out of paying Miles the money. That just made things worse. He should have NEVER been given that deal in the first place.

– Hedo saved the Blazers from themselves. The last two years of this contract would have been brutal for Portland. I’m still not convinced this thing was going to work on the court. Turkoglu and Roy together, each initiating offense? More likely, Turkoglu would have just deferred to him, found a spot on the wing to stand and just thrown up a ton of threes. And missed a lot of them.

– A guy this concerned about the money, once he gets that last, big, final, lucrative deal — does he continue to work hard? Maybe. Probably. But maybe not.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Hedo Turkoglu, Portland, Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto