Saturday, 4 July 2009
Turkish national basketball player Hidayet Turkoglu, who played five seasons with Orlando Magic, has agreed with another NBA team Portland Trail Blazers, U.S. media reports said on Friday.
Hedo flied to Oregon on a two-day trip to meet executives of Blazers and agreed on a five year contract, reports said.
Exact figures will not be disclosed until the league-wide moratorium on player movement is lifted on July 8. Portland Trail Blazers is expected to make public the official announcement on that date.
Orlando Magic, last season's NBA finalists, have offered 36 million USD for four years to keep him, but Hedo rejected the offer since he wanted a longer contract.
Another NBA team Canada-based Toronto Raptors also wanted to sign with Hedo but he picked Blazers who offered a contract of around 50 million USD for five years.
Hedo started his NBA carrier with Sacramento Kings in 2000 and moved to San Antonio Spurs and then to Magic. He is one of the first two Turkish basketball players playing in NBA with Mehmet Okur, or Memo, of Utah Jazz.
