Turkey - Stardom won't change Magic's Turkoglu

From www.floridatoday.com
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Life away from basketball wasn't even close to being the same this past offseason for Hedo Turkoglu. And that truly was a good thing, the Orlando Magic's new star small forward admitted.

Dinners at restaurants in his native Turkey usually were interrupted by autograph seekers. Cheers turned into roars as Turkoglu played for the Turkish national team. And instead of fans wondering why he had yet to fully live up to his enormous potential, instead there was gushing about his sudden emergence as one of the NBA's rising players.

From almost out of nowhere last season, Turkoglu became one of the best players on one of the NBA's best teams. Only two players -- LeBron James and Kobe Bryant -- scored more fourth-quarter points (487) than Turkoglu, who set career highs in scoring (19.7), rebounds (5.7) and assists (5.0). And his tremendous growth was ultimately honored with the NBA's Most Improved Player award.

The journey to this point took eight long years, and Turkoglu stresses that now is no time to relax and revel in his climb to this destination. Getting here was hard, but he knows that staying here will be even more difficult.

"I can't be happy and I can't be satisfied at all," Turkoglu said Wednesday following the Magic's second day of training camp practice. "If I don't work hard and play good, it's not going to help me be one of the best players in the league. It's hard to keep the place I have now, and that's my focus."

One undercurrent of Turkoglu's sudden climb to the NBA elite is what it could do to his future in Orlando. By NBA standards, he is a bargain at $6.8 million, and he certainly will opt out of his contract following this season.

That will make him an unrestricted free agent next summer. The Magic's soaring payroll after signing Rashard Lewis to a $118 million contract and giving Dwight Howard ($85 million) and Jameer Nelson ($35 million) contract extensions make a long-term extension with Turkoglu tricky. Already up against the NBA's luxury tax, the Magic might not be able to meet Turkoglu's expected asking price of at least $10 million a season.

Magic general manager Otis Smith said Wednesday that the franchise is in no hurry to lock up Turkoglu. Instead, the Magic plan to take a wait-and-see approach with their multi-talented small forward, in part, to see if he can duplicate last season's performance.

"Why would we start doing that? We haven't even played a game yet," Smith said. "He had his best years with (the Magic). It's not an issue now, and we're not going to make it an issue. You can do an extension, but why would I negotiate against myself?"

The NBA's free agency landscape changed dramatically last summer when professional teams in Europe vied for players because of their expanding payrolls. One such player, Orlando's Carlos Arroyo, left the Magic to sign with a team in Israel, while Atlanta's Josh Childress turned down the Hawks for a similar deal in Greece.

Turkoglu, a national celebrity back in Turkey, admitted that his options won't be limited to just other NBA teams next summer when he becomes a free agent. Teams in Europe also will be under consideration.

"Everything will be a possibility for me as long as I play how I know I can play," Turkoglu said.

How Turkoglu played last season was the way most figured he would play early in his career. After all, he is a rare combination in that he has the size of a power forward (6-foot-10), the shooting touch of a small forward and the passing and ball-handling skills of a guard.

Lacking confidence somewhat when his career began, Turkoglu failed to blossom when he was stuck behind Peja Stojakovic in Sacramento, Manu Ginobili in San Antonio and Grant Hill in Orlando.

But all that changed last season when Magic coach Stan Van Gundy put the ball in Turkoglu's hands and made him become the player through which Orlando's offense would run. Suddenly, the player who deferred to others in the past became a take-charge type of leader who never seemed to shy away from the big moments.

Three times he hit game-winning shots. Twice he compiled stat-stuffing triple-doubles. And in back-to-back weeks, he won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award, a franchise first that Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, Tracy McGrady or even Howard never accomplished.

It was, Smith said, just what he expected of Turkoglu when he vehemently pushed to bring Turkoglu to Orlando in 2004. Smith says candidly that Turkoglu vastly underachieved as a player before last season and that his breakout year wasn't as surprising to him as some.

"Turk always played under what his ability is," Smith said. "He's always had the ability to play as well as he played last year. He played well last season because we gave him the ball and he was a confident player."

Throughout Monday's media day and the first two days of training camp, Turkoglu repeatedly mentioned "being greedy," a mindset he wants for both himself and the Magic. He can't be content with last season's play, just as the Magic can't be satisfied with winning 52 games and a playoff series. The challenge now, Turkoglu stressed, is proving he belongs among basketball's elite players. Do that and the impending contract situation will take care of itself.

"I have the responsibility now to make sure that I take the next step as a player," he said. "I was in the right place at the right time and now I have to build on it. If I play like I did and have another great year, it should take me anywhere I want to go."