At the 13 hour mark of the free-agent signing period fans are awaiting the first major deal.  Nonetheless, there are things to talk about.

It looks like the Portland Trailblazers, are in hot pursuit of Hedo Turkoglu.  Turkoglu would immediately improve the Blazers lineup, likely replacing Nicolas Batum in the starting rotation.  If the deal goes down minutes at the small forward spot might be thin for Blazer players, especially with the steady improvement of Travis Outlaw and the athletic youngster Batum.  Ignoring the issues of chemistry, the Blazer squad could look quite impressive, not to mention, HUGE. Although Brandon Roy isn’t taller than the prototypical two guard, he plays bigger than he is.  With: 6’10 Turkoglu at the three, the lanky 6’11 Lamarcus Aldridge at power forward and Joel “the vanilla gorilla” Pryzbilla inside, the Blazers would have the potential to create serious matchup problems.  If the deal goes down the Blazers will win the Northwest division.

Also, no big surprise here, it looks like Kobe will try to sign a contract extension with the Lakers instead of jumping ship.  The injury cursed Houston Rockets are rumored to be after backup Orlando Magic Center, Marcin Gortat, to replace Yao if his injury does prove to be season or career ending.  If, and this is a big if, the Rockets can sign Gortat or another decent center, retain Ron Artest and stay healthy they will still have a great squad.  One other note: it’s rumored Ben Gordon will end up a Piston.

Stay tuned as free agency continues to unfold, it’s bound to be fun.

Filed under: General | Tagged: Blazers, Hedo Turkoglu, Lamarcus Aldridge, Marcin Gortat, Nicolas Batum, Orlando Magic, Pistons, Portland, Pryzbilla, Ron Arteset, Roy, Travis Outlaw |