Turkoglu Has Minor Surgery

By: Stephen Patterson

The Phoenix Suns' Hedo Turkoglu underwent minor gall bladder surgery while in his native country of Turkey. Turkolgu was in the country training to play with the national team in the upcoming World Championships. The surgery was to remove gallstones, and he is expected to be back on the court in a few days according to head coach Alvin Gentry.

His new team apparently isn't too worried about the procedure. When coach Gentry was asked about the surgery, he said it's "not a big deal." The Suns traded Leandro Barbosa and Dwayne Jones to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Turkoglu. He is one of several key additions the Suns have made this offseason in an attempt to recover from the departure of Amare Stoudemire.

Turkoglu is coming off a sub par season with Toronto in which he only averaged 11.3 points per game, his lowest since the 2003-04 season. He never seemed to gel with his teammates during his only season with the team after signing a five year deal with the Raptors last summer after committing to sign with the Portland Trail Blazers. Hedo fell out of favor with the team, and was subsequently benched, when he was spotted out enjoying himself on the town the day after he missed a game due to illness.

Turkoglu has a chance to turn his career back around with a very promising Suns roster. While they have lost key players such as Stoudemire and Barbosa, they have added Turkoglu, Hakim Warrick, Charlie Frye (re-signed), and Josh Childress in the offseason. All of these players should enjoy playing alongside two-time MVP Steve Nash, who will definitely enjoy some of his new, athletic weapons. Turkoglu is an amazing shooter and can hit clutch shots, something the Suns could definitely use in the postseason. Look for him to have a much better season in Phoenix than he did last year during his time with the Raptors.