Commentary

Square pegs

Bet you thought these guys would help their new teams

Updated: February 10, 2010, 6:34 PM ET

By Chris Broussard | ESPN The Magazine

This article appears in the Feb. 22 issue of ESPN The Magazine.

He seemed sad, sitting there in the corner of the visitors' locker room at Madison Square Garden. Speaking in a heavy, hushed tone, Hedo Turkoglu was comparing past with present. And past was kicking present's butt. The Raptors' prize off-season pickup had no idea that changing teams would also mean changing fortunes. "Playing-wise, this is the toughest adjustment I've had to make in my career," said Turkoglu, a 10-year vet. "I'm not happy with the way I'm playing."

There's a fair amount of that going around. Turkoglu is just one of several big names struggling to fit in.

Vince Carter, the man who replaced Turkoglu in Orlando, has been outplayed by J.J. Redick recently and averaged just 8.7 ppg on 28% shooting in January. He is also routinely benched in fourth quarters. In San Antonio, Richard Jefferson has failed to provide the athletic spark or stout defense needed to put the Spurs at eye level with the Lakers. And if you go back two years, you can see one of the most disastrous free agent signings in league history, Elton Brand. Instead of making the Sixers contenders, Brand -- and his $80 million -- has made them duds.

On paper, each of those players boosts the talent level of his new team. So why has that not translated to on-court wins? "It's about fit," says Pacers GM David Morway. "It's much more complicated than getting good players."

To read about why Vince Carter, Elton Brand, Hedo Turkoglu, and Richard Jefferson aren't helping their new teams, you must be an ESPN Insider.