Report: Hedo agrees to deal with Trail Blazers / NOT! Toronto it is!

[stevo]

Report: Hedo agrees to deal with Trail Blazers
posted by Brant Parsons on Jul 3, 2009 4:09:45 PM

ESPN.com is reporting that Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu will sign with Portland.

The deal cannot be officially announced until Wednesday, the first day that free agent contracts can be signed.

The deal is believed to be in the five-year, $50million range.

Orlando Sentinel - Report: Hedo agrees to deal with Trail Blazers by

[chairibofjustice]

He's not going to the blazers now

Hedo Turkoglu rejects Blazers, ends negotiations - Behind The Blazers Beat

[stevo]

I edited Charib.

[VY10]

looks like he is coming to TO!

[Immanuel Kant]

Perfect...just what the Raptors need...another mediocre defender who

1) isn't very quick.
2) would rather shoot than take the ball to the basket
3) cannot rebound
4) will take up all Toronto's cap space preventing them from addressing real needs

Colangelo proves every day that he's another exec that fooled the Toronto "hicks"......he knows very little about pro-hoops. He's lucky things fell into place in PHO....

Keep telling us how Bosh will lead this team....tell us we're very close.....tell us Triano is the coach we need....

No playoffs for you Raptors.......

[stevo]

Did Hedo Turkoglu's wife sway his decision to sign with Toronto?

By Kevin Allenon July 4, 2009 1:37 PM

Hedo Turkoglu, who helped lead the Orlando Magic to its first appearance in the NBA Finals since 1995, shocked anyone who's paying attention to the NBA over the holiday weekend when he agreed to a deal with the Toronto Raptors instead of the Portland Trailblazers.

By all accounts, it wasn't the length of the contract being offered, it wasn't the money and it wasn't the team itself that made Turkoglu balk at Portland's offer. So, what was it?

During these times when we seek NBA wisdom, we begrudgingly turn to ESPN reporter Ric Bucher's Twitter feed, where he writes, "Toronto's shot at getting Hedo: apparently his wife loves the city. Any (happily) married man can tell you how much weight that carries."

And it's not just the spouse he's thinking about. Turkoglu and his wife, Banu, had a baby girl in February. Living in Portland puts the family an extra five hours away from Turkey.

So, let this be a lesson to any team hoping to sign Hedo Turkoglu in the future: If you really want Hedo, you'll move your team as close to Turkey as humanly possible.

But fear not, Trail Blazer fan. As Oregonian reporter Jason Quick informs us, "Thirty minutes after Turkoglu rejected the offer, the Blazers were back on the phone lines."

Any thoughts as to what they were up to druing those 30 minutes of in-between time?

Did Hedo Turkoglu's wife sway his decision to sign with Toronto? - Sports Pros(e)