What the Magic got was an Eastern Conference finals whipping at the hands of the Celtics and what Turkoglu got was a lost season in Toronto, then a trade last summer to Phoenix that only made things worse.
"I wanted and expected in those places to be the guy that could do the things that I'm comfortable doing," he said. "I wanted to be making plays, a facilitator, someone who is good with the ball and creates open shots for his teammates.
"Instead I was used in a different way in both of those situations. I don't have an answer for that. They tried to use me as a guy off the ball, a spot-up shooter. I respect those teams and maybe what their plans were. I went out there and tried to do my best in those situations. But it wasn't me. It wasn't who I can be.
"But what I hate the most is having people think I didn't try hard or do much for 1 ½ years and wasted that time."
"I wanted and expected in those places to be the guy that could do the things that I'm comfortable doing," he said. "I wanted to be making plays, a facilitator, someone who is good with the ball and creates open shots for his teammates.
"Instead I was used in a different way in both of those situations. I don't have an answer for that. They tried to use me as a guy off the ball, a spot-up shooter. I respect those teams and maybe what their plans were. I went out there and tried to do my best in those situations. But it wasn't me. It wasn't who I can be.
"But what I hate the most is having people think I didn't try hard or do much for 1 ½ years and wasted that time."
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