Otis Smith Admits Letting Hedo Turkoglu Go Was a Mistake

It’s not often that GMs and other front-office personnel admit their errors, but Otis Smith did just that when it comes to having watched Hedo walk away two summers ago. From the Sentinel: “Now that Turk is back and meshing marvelously — just like he did two years ago when he was the second-most important player on a Magic team that went to the NBA Finals — Smith actually said these words: ‘Yes, I was wrong.’ But, of course, he added a qualifier. ‘In its simplest form — Hedo’s gone and now he’s back — you could say we made a mistake, but there’s more to it than that. We made a deal to fill a hole based on what we knew the economics would be down the road with Hedo.’ … And now that Turk is back in Magic colors and the team is playing well, it makes you wonder now more than ever why the Magic broke up the band two years ago and got rid of two-fifths of their starting lineup. ‘I wish we still had that [Finals] team,’ Magic center Dwight Howard says now, ‘but things happen for a reason … I never wanted him [Turk] to leave. I’m just glad he’s back.’ Says Turk when asked if he regrets leaving after the Magic made the Finals: ‘I wasn’t the GM … It was a decision at the time that both sides thought was best, but when you look back it wasn’t really the right decision.'”