Although Hedo Turkoglu's numbers dropped as the Magic made their run to the NBA Finals this season, it appears re-signing the Turkish off-guard is still going to be the team's main summer objective.
Turkoglu opted out of the rest of his contract at the end of the Game Five defeat by the Lakers and could well command a free agent bid of $10m but Orlando are keen not to let the offensive wizard leave town.
Winner of the 2008 Most Improved Player award, Turkoglu's numbers were down across the board in the season just completed, and despite a lack of defensive grit to his game, his value to the club remains high.
The problem for Orlando is that, having seen the likely price for Turk rise from around $8m, they will have to dip into luxury tax waters to pay him – not a problem for a team rich from the success of the 2008-09 campaign but setting a dangerous precedent for the future.
Next season's tax pool is expected to be a lot lower, with less teams feeling the need to overspend, meaning their penalty could well be doubled as those teams staying within the cap could be handed extra benefits.
But is $10m a year worth it for a player relatively devoid of defensive ability? Would basketball betting back him to be a success?
The big problem for the Magic is the massive (bloated?) contracts held by Dwight Howard (well deserved) and Rashard Lewis (jury definitely out). That leaves them hand-cuffed in trade and sign markets since no-one is getting Howard and no-one can afford to trade for Lewis.
So, unless there is a lot of competition for Hedo, it would be easy to see him back in Orlando next season with the savings for the team most likely coming at the backup point-guard spot, where Rafer Alston could be moving home again.
After last season's nearest of near-misses, it would be a shame to let things slide quickly with Howard right at his prime – but success always comes at a price and the winner this time is going to be Hedo Turkoglu.
