Sources: Turkoglu changes mind on Blazers
Free agent Hedo Turkoglu(notes) has backed out of his commitment to the Portland Trail Blazers and plans to sign with the Toronto Raptors, multiple league sources told Yahoo! Sports on Friday night.
Turkoglu had agreed on a five-year, $50 million deal with the Blazers, but changed his mind and is headed for a five-year, $53 million deal with the Raptors. Toronto would have to renounce three free agents – Shawn Marion(notes), Carlos Delfino(notes) and Anthony Parker(notes) – to create the cap space for Turkoglu.
Apparently, the Blazers are already busy exploring other free-agent options for the $9 million in salary-cap space.
A source says Turkoglu's wife wanted badly to live in Toronto, a far more European-style city, and that's where it appears the Turkish native is headed. The Raptors have embraced the Euro game under GM Bryan Colangelo, building a roster that includes Euro talents Jose Calderon(notes) and Andrea Bargnani(notes).
Five years ago, Turkoglu was close to signing with the Phoenix Suns that Colangelo was running, but changed his mind and went to the Orlando Magic.
After opting out of his contract last week in Orlando, he became one of the hottest free agents on the market. Turkoglu, 30, averaged 16.8 points and 5.3 rebounds last season for the Magic.
