Hedo Turkoglu and the Portland Trail Blazers have reached an agreement in principle on a five-year contract, CBSSports.com has confirmed.
Though Turkoglu's agent, Lon Babby, cautioned that details were still being finalized Friday, a high-level coaching source with direct knowledge of the situation said those details were minor and that Turkoglu, a 30-year-old forward who is one of the most versatile players in the game, has given a commitment to sign with the Blazers.
UPDATE: Portland's main competition for Turkoglu, the Toronto Raptors, are indicating that they've decided to back away from a bidding war and focus on re-signing their own free agents, Shawn Marion and Carlos Delfino. Both Marion and Delfino are close to agreements with Toronto, a high-ranking source with knowledge of those discussions said. Delfino is closer than Marion, the person said, due to ongoing disagreement about his value. That would seem to leave open the possibility of a sign-and-trade for Marion, although another person familiar with the Marion talks said the Cavs, who are pursuing Parker, never asked about Marion.
Toronto was approached Thursday by Cleveland about a possible sign and trade for another one of its free agents, Anthony Parker. The Raptors would've had to renounce their rights to all three in order to top Portland's offer for Turkoglu, which CBSSports.com reported early Wednesday would be a five-year deal for about $50 million.
Exact figures won't be available until the league-wide moratorium on player movement is lifted on July 8, when contracts agreed to during the negotiating period can be signed.
UPDATE: Adding Turkoglu gives the Blazers a potent and versatile threat who can handle the ball, produce devastating results in pick-and-roll situations, and present matchup nightmares for the opponent. At 6-10, Turkoglu can easily shoot over smaller perimeter defenders and is smoother than most frontcourt players attempting to guard him. He is the ideal complement to Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge, and his ability to initiate offensive sets will provide freedom to shooting guard Brandon Roy even if Portland isn't able to upgrade at point guard this summer. It was expected that the Blazers would have to renounce their rights to two overseas players, Joel Freeland and Petteri Koponen, in order to clear cap space for Turkoglu.
UPDATE: Another person familiar with the Blazers' plans said adding point guard Andre Miller, who was thought to have been their No. 1 target before the free-agent bell rang at 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday, is still a possibility. Given that Turkoglu will use up nearly all of Portland's $9 million in cap space next season, it would appear that a sign-and-trade for Miller would be the most realistic option, although details on Miller's situation have been scarce.
As for Turkoglu, a 30-year-old player who has never been an All-Star or led the league in any major statistical category, $50 million certainly seems to be the classic case of overpaying. But it's sensible on several fronts for the Blazers, who have extensions for Roy and Aldridge on the horizon and wouldn't have been in a position to improve the roster as much next summer as they are right now. Turkoglu also fits the Blazers' style and helps Roy, their most explosive player. Money well spent, if you ask me.
