Turkoglu Wants A Return To The Kings

Well, I’m not really sure I’d classify this under breaking news by any stretch as it’s been well known for some time, but it’s at least in print this time around. Sources have confirmed to Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski that one time King and current Raptor Hedo Turkoglu would like a return to his one time home away from home. Turkoglu has all but fallen out of favor in the land to our greater north, so much so that he’s employed a roster of attorneys to potentially get him out of his contract, or at worst, out of Toronto.

The Raptors have all but realized the mistake they made when they gave Hedo the lucrative 5 year, 53 million dollar contract last off-season after Turkoglu abruptly declined a 5 year, 50 million dollar contract that he verbally agreed to in Portland days earlier. Turkoglu failed to replicate the play or attitude he had in Orlando, the reason he was given that lucrative of a contract and quickly fell out of favor with the Raptors fan base and front office/coaching staff, resulting in choruses of boos and benchings, especially toward season end. The continued bashing became so bad at season end, Hedo eventually asked the Raptors for a mutual breakup.

So what about the Kings? Well, at first glance, this seems like a thank you but no thank you, assuming Hedo is not bought out and it’s a trade situation where the Kings will be taking back Hedo’s pretty nasty contract (well, nasty for a rebuilding team with cap room). There is a small window of possibility that a package centered around Andres Nocioni (who’s made his own desires about wanting out) and oft injured swing man Francisco Garcia might get the job done, and in that situation, the Kings aren’t hampered too much financially as both players have multiple years left on their contracts. And while neither of this contracts is as unfriendly as Turkoglu’s, teams aren’t going to be pounding on the Kings door to acquire them.

My stance? Well, I’m not sure. I’m a pretty serious hater of Nocioni and would trade him for table scraps if at all possible. But expensive table scraps? That’s where things get interesting. I’d definitely need some extra incentive to take on that contract, be it the 13th pick or a young player that DeMar DeRozan – a price that might be too much for the Raptors.

But, an off-season where the Kings could score Turk, potentially a big man such as Cousins in the draft, and still have plenty of cap space? It does have some appeal…