"Despite published reports to the contrary, Hedo Turkoglu has not reached an agreement with the Trail Blazers, a team source announced at 2:20 p.m. Friday. ESPN first reported that a deal had been reached in principle, but general manager Kevin Pritchard and Turkoglu agent Lon Babby have not confirmed the deal.

The 6-foot-10 small forward, one of the top commodities in this year's free agent market, arrived in Portland on Thursday afternoon and is expected to leave Saturday morning.

If a deal is struck, the Blazers can not officially sign Turkoglu until July 8, when the league's free agent moratorium is lifted. Teams have been allowed to contact and negotiate with free agents since midnight eastern time on July 1, and the Blazers were the first of several teams to contact Turkoglu, calling minutes after the market opened, making an immediate impression on Babby and the 30-year-old sharp shooter.

The Blazers are one of five teams expected to be under the league's salary cap, immediately putting them in position to compete for Turkoglu's services. Toronto is another team seeking Turkoglu, but the Raptors have struggled to convince themselves that Turkoglu was worth having to renounce five players on their roster.

Turkoglu helped Orlando reach the NBA Finals this season. But last week he opted out of the last year of his contract, which would have paid him $7.3 million. In the same week, the Magic executed a draft-night trade for Vince Carter, who plays the same position as Turkoglu.

If consumated, the Blazers are expected to use all of their available cap space in the move, but Pritchard intimated that he has at least one more move ahead this summer, which figures to involve one of the Blazers three returning small forwards - Travis Outlaw ($3.6 million this season), Martell Webster ($4.3 million) or second-year player Nicolas Batum ($1.2 million)."