Hedo Watch, Artest to Lakers, Charlie V, Ben Gordon to Pistons, and More

As part of a busy couple of days on the free-agency front, Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva signed with the Detroit Pistons.

Whenever a player meets with the brass, head coach, or players of an interested team, it usually means they will sign.

Free-agent forward Hedo Turkoglu had dinner with Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan, and, according to the Blazers radio voice Brian Wheeler, he will sign if talks progress.

Fellow forward Ron Artest, the exact opposite of Turkoglu: good defender, poor shooter, met with Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss, and once the meeting was concluded, told CBSSports.com that he will sign with the champs.

Center Rasheed Wallace met with the Boston Celtics brass and some of their players, and, soon after, agreed in principle to join the Eastern Conference power.

Also, after both free-agent guard Ben Gordon and free-agent forward Charlie Villanueva talked to Detroit Pistons General Manager Joe Dumars, they signed for a combined 10 years and $98 million.

Turkoglu was on a flight from Sacramento heading to Portland. When he got off the plane, he was asked if he wanted to be a Blazer.

Turkoglu responded, “Yeah, I want to be a Blazer.” I don’t know what to think. It appears a signing of Turkoglu is imminent, but I don’t know whether to jump for joy or sulk.

Travis Outlaw will probably be thrown to the wolves, tossed aside after Portland spent six years grooming him. This breakdown of minutes includes Turkoglu and leaves out Outlaw, but to keep Rudy Fernandez, Nicolas Batum, and Martell Webster satisfied, it has Turkoglu playing only 27 minutes per game.

He’ll play more, which will decrease Fernandez and Webster’s minutes to 20-22, while Batum’s would fall to 12-14, which would be an atrocity.

Sure, the Blazers could use different sets in an attempt to make room for their depth, but Batum and Fernandez in particular deserve at least 25-30 minutes per game.

That wouldn’t be possible if Turkoglu is signed, which would therefore limit their growth and diminish their impact.

On the other side of the spectrum, if the Blazers have a win-now mindset, then Turkoglu makes more sense. He would bring intangibles that Outlaw, Fernandez, or Batum don’t yet possess, and experience that they lack.

But I’m not too thrilled about his asking price: five years, $50-60 million. I’d prefer a three-year deal.

What doomed Portland against the Houston Rockets in last years’ playoffs was the lack of consistent help behind Roy.

Sure, Aldridge put up his usual numbers, but when Roy looked to the Outlaw-Fernandez-Batum combination, the threesome failed to hit shots, thereby putting too much pressure on Roy and Aldridge.

I think once the deal is made official, I’ll muster a smile.

At the airport, Turkoglu said, “A bunch of young players...if things works out, I’ll just be the experienced guy, being in different situations, being in different roles, I can help those guys to make the next step.”

You can’t argue with that, a versatile guy who has NBA Finals experience understanding that the team is built around youth, not him.

Yet, I’m still torn. I want Batum to become Scottie Pippen, Fernandez to be happy, and Outlaw to be his clutch self.

If Turkoglu is signed, Batum can only be a poor-mans Scottie Pippen playing an inexplicably low amount of minutes, Fernandez will continue to be frustrated, and Outlaw will be on another team.

So, it is not surprising to see that Blazers nation is split as a whole: of the 2,121 who have voted on a poll created by Blazersedge, 52 percent said they would “Roll with Batum/Webster/Outlaw and see what happens”; only 19 percent voted in favor of signing Turkoglu.

Ron Artest going to the Lakers could be good, bad, or ugly for Los Angeles.

The Good: He’s a physical defender, and though his shooting percentages don’t show it (neither do Turkoglu’s) he can be a prolific offensive scorer.

The Bad: His shot selection is worse than that of Bryant’s, and he can be lackadaisical on the defensive end.

The Ugly: He’s can be an intelligent player, but has the tendency to be a bit of a headcase, and sometimes, downright insane.

If he meshes with Bryant, this could pay dividends, and lead to a repeat for the Lakers. If not, it could be disastrous.

The Rockets countered by agreeing to terms with free-agent guard/forward Trevor Ariza, a former Laker.

He’s an upgrade over Artest in many ways: he is five years younger, doesn’t take ill-advised shots, and hasn’t gained a negative reputation.

He isn’t as developed offensively as Artest, but is just as feisty defensively. Because he’s sprightly, he should be a good fit for the Rockets, a team in dire straits.

The Pistons used to be defensive oriented, and was a perennial championship contender because of it. Their philosophy has changed, considering they signed the worst defensive players they could find in Gordon and Villanueva.

The two will benefit Detroit offensively, and both are young (Gordon is 26, Villanueva is 24), but they will be part of a run 'n gun offense, rather than the previously successful defensive-minded 92 points-per-game Pistons.

It was an interesting decision on both of their parts, because Detroit doesn’t have a head coach. This Dumars must have done a superb job convincing the two, who were teammates at the University of Connecticut.