Blazers Want Turkoglu; Fernandez Might Want Out

The Blazers apparently are making a pitch for Hedo Turkoglu. Rudy Fernandez, apparently, isn't happy about it. . . .

Turkoglu would be an interesting fit for Portland, and Henry Abbott of ESPN.com points out that his skill at the side pick-and-roll would be a boon to Portland's offense:

Dwight Howard was amazing at diving to the hoop on the play, running straight down the lane to make himself a threat to catch the ball at the hoop. Greg Oden will have to do that, and then if I were LaMarcus Aldridge, I'd spend the summer mastering the NBA 3, like Rashard Lewis -- because when the small forward and the center are running this play , the help usually comes from the power forward who can be wide open in the corner.

On the other hand, Turkoglu is 30 and looks like he's 40. Fernandez is 24 and is acting like he's 4.

Dwight Jaynes says he saw this coming:

I've been telling you this story for months: Long-term, Portland is not the right place for Rudy Fernandez. Every time I write it, people want to skewer me, but the fact is, Rudy didn’t come over here to be somebody’s backup. He’s been a star his whole life. Long-term, as long as Brandon Roy is here, Rudy is never going to be a starting off-guard, which is what he wants to be. You might as well trade him now — because later you’re going to lose leverage if he stomps his feet and goes home in a snit.

— Greg Jayne