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Bench Warmer
Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan is flying to Orlando to have a Wednesday night dinner with the Blazers' top free-agent target, Hedo Turkoglu.
Turkoglu's agent, Lon Babby, said Wednesday that Turkoglu will then travel to Oregon for a Thursday tour of the Blazers' facilities and meetings with Portland general manager Kevin Pritchard and assistant GM Tom Penn.
With the Blazers projected to have $8 million to $9 million in salary-cap space this summer -- with firm figures not known until the league announces next season's salary cap on July 8 -- and the Orlando Magic lacking the financial flexibility to re-sign Turkoglu after trading for Vince Carter last week, Turkoglu is widely expected to land with the Blazers as the first marquee free-agent signing of Pritchard's reign.
Teams and free agents were permitted to strike verbal agreements on new deals as of 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday but new contracts cannot be signed until the cap figure is announced and the NBA's moratorium on signings is lifted next week.
Babby said he had received calls from at least four teams, some with cap space and some without, although the Detroit Pistons -- with more cap space than any other team looking to make a free-agent splash this summer -- were not one of them.
The Toronto Raptors were known to be one of the teams with enough cap space available to make Turkoglu a respectable offer, but the Raptors would have to renounce their rights to Shawn Marion and Anthony Parker in order to facilitate such a move.
Turkoglu is believed to be seeking a five-year contract in the neighborhood of $50 million, and he turned down a four-year offer from Orlando, worth approximately $36 million, before the Magic pulled the trigger on the Carter trade.
Babby said he had not heard from the Magic within the first 12 hours of the free-agency period.
"But I don't think that door is closed, although everyone realizes it has gotten harder to do something there," Babby said. "I haven't talked to [Orlando GM] Otis Smith since the process started, but I will."
The Blazers were the first team to express interest in Turkoglu. The (Portland) Oregonian newspaper reported that Pritchard first made his Turkoglu plans known to Blazers cornerstones Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, both of whom are eligible for contract extensions this offseason.
Turkoglu, 30, averaged 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists last season in helping Orlando reach the NBA Finals for just the second time in franchise history. He averaged 15.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 24 playoff games, shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from 3-point range, and won NBA Most Improved Player honors in 2007-08 after averaging 19.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists for the Magic.
"I'm excited for him," Babby said Wednesday regarding the Blazers' aggressive pursuit of Turkoglu. "They've communicated their interest and we'll see where it goes from here."
Portland is one of just five teams this summer projected to be sufficiently under the salary cap to sign free agents outright, along with Detroit, Memphis, Oklahoma City and Sacramento.
Turkoglu's agent, Lon Babby, said Wednesday that Turkoglu will then travel to Oregon for a Thursday tour of the Blazers' facilities and meetings with Portland general manager Kevin Pritchard and assistant GM Tom Penn.
With the Blazers projected to have $8 million to $9 million in salary-cap space this summer -- with firm figures not known until the league announces next season's salary cap on July 8 -- and the Orlando Magic lacking the financial flexibility to re-sign Turkoglu after trading for Vince Carter last week, Turkoglu is widely expected to land with the Blazers as the first marquee free-agent signing of Pritchard's reign.
Teams and free agents were permitted to strike verbal agreements on new deals as of 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday but new contracts cannot be signed until the cap figure is announced and the NBA's moratorium on signings is lifted next week.
Babby said he had received calls from at least four teams, some with cap space and some without, although the Detroit Pistons -- with more cap space than any other team looking to make a free-agent splash this summer -- were not one of them.
The Toronto Raptors were known to be one of the teams with enough cap space available to make Turkoglu a respectable offer, but the Raptors would have to renounce their rights to Shawn Marion and Anthony Parker in order to facilitate such a move.
Turkoglu is believed to be seeking a five-year contract in the neighborhood of $50 million, and he turned down a four-year offer from Orlando, worth approximately $36 million, before the Magic pulled the trigger on the Carter trade.
Babby said he had not heard from the Magic within the first 12 hours of the free-agency period.
"But I don't think that door is closed, although everyone realizes it has gotten harder to do something there," Babby said. "I haven't talked to [Orlando GM] Otis Smith since the process started, but I will."
The Blazers were the first team to express interest in Turkoglu. The (Portland) Oregonian newspaper reported that Pritchard first made his Turkoglu plans known to Blazers cornerstones Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, both of whom are eligible for contract extensions this offseason.
Turkoglu, 30, averaged 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists last season in helping Orlando reach the NBA Finals for just the second time in franchise history. He averaged 15.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 24 playoff games, shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from 3-point range, and won NBA Most Improved Player honors in 2007-08 after averaging 19.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists for the Magic.
"I'm excited for him," Babby said Wednesday regarding the Blazers' aggressive pursuit of Turkoglu. "They've communicated their interest and we'll see where it goes from here."
Portland is one of just five teams this summer projected to be sufficiently under the salary cap to sign free agents outright, along with Detroit, Memphis, Oklahoma City and Sacramento.
