"A year ago, Toronto signed versatile free agent forward Hedo Turkoglu believing he might be the final piece to an Eastern Conference contending club and a player that might help the Raptors keep Chris Bosh around.

The 6-foot-10 Turkoglu just had finished helping the Orlando Magic reach the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Lakers, and for all the hype that surrounded Magic center Dwight Howard, it was Turkoglu whom the Magic ran their offense through that season.

But Turkoglu's talents never meshed with the Raptors and Bosh. Now, Bosh is in South Beach with Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. And Turkoglu is ready for a rebirth in Phoenix.

When the Suns introduced the 31-year-old to the media Wednesday, he posed with a No. 19 jersey - which he picked for a reason.

"It's my date of birth," he said. "It's a new start for me. So I can say, 'Put that year away and it's a new start for me, a new beginning.' "

Turkoglu, who underwent a minor procedure to remove gallstones earlier this month, said he didn't really want to talk about last season, but he made it clear that the team chemistry of the Suns was an attraction.

"Obviously, the chemistry wasn't there for both sides," he said of his lone season in Toronto. "I guess I wasn't really used how I'm capable of (playing). . .

"(Nash) is one of the best point guards in the league. He sets the tone being unselfish and the guys try to do the same. And that's how you become a good team. All my career, I try to play like that. So I guess that's why they're talking that I can be a good fit."

To make the move to Phoenix in a trade that sent Leandro Barbosa and Dwayne Jones to Toronto, Turkoglu agreed to wave $5 million of a trade kicker in his contract and to have only half of the final year in his deal guaranteed."