Turkoglu to Portland not a done deal yet

Hedo Turkoglu to Portland?

Probably. Just not yet.

A team source Friday afternoon said that there is not yet a deal between the Blazers and Orlando's free agent forward on a five-year contract, despite published reports claiming a verbal agreement was in place.

Turkoglu has spent the past two days in Portland touring the Blazers' facilities and meeting with team management, after having dinner in Orlando on Wednesday evening with head coach Nate McMillan. While other teams like Toronto had hoped to make an offer to the 30-year-old, Portland has been at the top of his list since the negotiating period began Wednesday.

If and when a deal is consummated between Portland and Turkoglu, the actual value will not be known until next week, when the league officially sets its salary cap for the 2009-10 season. The cap is expected to drop from its current $58.7 million figure, though it may not fall as far as teams initially feared last spring. A source with knowledge of the cap-setting procedure said this week that the final number may be less than $1 million lower than the current cap.

Turkoglu had opted out of the final year of his six-year, $36 million deal with the Magic, which would have paid him $7.34 million in 2009. He and his agent, Lon Babby, had expressed an interest in re-signing with the Magic, but were seeking a five-year contract and an average of $10 million a year. That was probably already too steep for Orlando's ownership--which had said it would pay luxury tax if necessary this upcoming season in order to keep the team together. But when the Magic acquired Vince Carter and his $51.9 million contract last week from New Jersey, Turkoglu's days in Orlando were pretty much numbered.

In Portland, Turkoglu would provide veteran leadership and playoff experience for a young team that is on the rise in the Western Conference, with All-Star guard Brandon Roy, forward LaMarcus Aldridge and center Greg Oden forming the core of a promising nucleus. The Blazers made the playoffs last season for the first time in six years, losing to the Rockets in the first round.

If the Blazers give Turkoglu the $50 million he's seeking, it would use up all of the Blazers' available cap room. Portland had around $8 million in cap space after trading reserve guard Sergio Rodriguez to Sacramento for a second-round draft pick on draft day. The Blazers would have had even more room this summer, but lost another $9 million in cap room when former forward Darius Miles appeared in 10 preseason and regular season games for the Celtics and Grizzlies.

The Blazers had gotten relief from Miles' contract from the league when he missed two seasons following microfracture surgery on his right knee, and the team claimed he would no longer be able to play basketball because of the injury. But the settlement stipulated that the remainder of Miles' contract would be re-assigned to Portland if and when he appeared in 10 games in a season.

Turkoglu is coming off a second strong season in Orlando, where he signed as a free agent in 2004 and won the league's Most Improved Player award last season. He averaged 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists for the Magic this past season, and assumed a lot of point guard responsibilities the second half of the regular season after starting point guard Jameer Nelson went down with a shoulder injury. Those skills were on display in the playoffs, when Turkoglu shined in consecutive series against Philadelphia, Boston and Cleveland.

He shot just 42.7 percent from the floor in the playoffs, but hit a game-winner against the 76ers and almost won Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against Cleveland on a jumper with one second left before LeBron James' game-winning three-pointer. Throughout the playoffs, Turkoglu had the ball in his hands down the stretch of games, running pick and roll sets with Dwight Howard and either shooting the ball himself or finding open teammates.

Along with possibly losing Turkoglu, the Magic may lose backup center Marcin Gortat, who has agreed to an offer sheet with the Dallas Mavericks. The sheet can't officially be delivered until next week, and Orlando would have seven days to match it upon receipt. But general manager Otis Smith told the Orlando Sentinel on Friday that he did not think he'd be inclined to match an offer to Gortat for the full mid-level exception.

ESPN.com first reported the official agreement between Turkoglu and the Trail Blazers, followed by a similar report on the website of the Oregonian newspaper.