Say Goodbye to Hedo; Magic Pursuing Bass, Artest
Ken Berger of CBSsports.com is reporting that the Portland Trail Blazers have offered Magic Forward Hedo Turkoglu a contract in the “$50-million range.”
“While negotiations across the league were in the early stages, a person with knowledge of the discussions said the Blazers are trying to lure Turkoglu with a deal in the $50-million range. Contracts cannot be signed until July 7, when the annual moratorium on signing and trading players is lifted.”
Toronto, Detroit, and Sacramento, along with the Orlando Magic, are expected to make plays for Turkoglu, but none are expected to offer this much money.
Tony Dutt, the agent for Dallas Mavericks PF Brandon Bass has said that the Magic have contacted him about signing Bass. “Yes, I did speak to (Magic General Manager) Otis Smith and they did show interest in Brandon,” Dutt said.
Hoopshype.com is reporting that the Magic are expected to pursue Houston Rockets Forward Ron Artest. This could be an extremely interesting acquisition as Artest is a very good all around player and arguably the best wing defender in all of basketball.
The Pistons are targeting both Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva and are getting closer with both players, which will certainly take them out of any Hedo Turkoglu sweepstakes.
