Is Hedo Turkoglu Going To Be Traded by the Toronto Raptors?: NBA Rumors

The Raptors are expected to be big players on draft night, and any fan who followed the team last season can understand why.

Toronto's roster is clogged up with players who have similar talents, or, more accurately, lack crucial talents, and as a result the team often looked stagnant last season.

Hedo Turkoglu, after one season with the Raptors, has asked to be traded.

Given his disappointing play, this may be a blessing in disguise for the Raptors.

Raptors fans don’t take too kindly to players who ask to be traded —Vince Carter is still public enemy No. 1 in the city more than five years after he asked to be traded. The difference is that Carter was unarguably the best player in Raptors history up to that point, and Turkoglu, in his one season in Toronto, has appeared to be a waste of time and money for the Raptors.

In regards to Turkoglu’s status, team general manager Bryan Colangelo could offer little more than assurances that if there’s a deal out there for Hedo Turkoglu he’ll make it, according to the Toronto Star.

But it raises the question: Is there a deal out there for Turkoglu, and if so, will the Raptors get tangible pieces in return?

Unfortunately for the Raptors, Turkoglu's poor play and generally poor work ethic after he signed his fat contract with Toronto likely diminished some of his value as a bargaining chip.

But despite this, there are still plenty of NBA teams in need of a shooter.

As of now the Raptors' two major needs in the draft are at point guard and center. The best-case scenario would be for the Raptors to receive a first-round pick in return for Turkoglu.

If the Raptors could land Texas product Avery Bradley as well as Kansas big man Cole Aldrich or Baylor shot-blocker Ekpe Udoh, they would fill two very big needs for the franchise for years to come.

Having watched a lot of Big 12 basketball, I believe that Cole Aldrich has the potential to be a poor man’s Brook Lopez in the NBA. Avery Bradley is a player who still needs a lot of seasoning before he will ready to contribute, but his athleticism and talent are better suited for the NBA than for college basketball, and NBA GMs know this.

But this exact scenario, while nice to think about, doesn’t seem likely at this point.

There are a handful of team interested in Turkoglu’s services, and at this point Colangelo needs to try to encourage them to outbid one another, which would then benefit the Raptors.

One intriguing scenario would be the Raptors trading Turkoglu straight up to the Pistons for Tayshaun Prince, who they are looking to unload.

This deal would benefit both sides, as Detroit is in desperate need of a shooter and the Raptors are in desperate need of a defender. Prince would be a breath of fresh air in Toronto as he's a hard worker, a tough player, and mostly importantly, a winner. 

While Turkoglu's destination is unclear, as of now the question likely isn’t will the Raptors trade the small forward, but when.