Hooped Up

Hedo Turkoglu has backed out of negotiations with the Blazers, which could pave the way for David Lee to Portland. ”We had been talking, but we’ll talk now,” Lee’s agent Mark Bartlestein told The Post last night.

Turkoglu reportedly agreed to terms with Portland early yesterday on a $10 million per year deal, then ended negotiations and was said to be Toronto-bound, according to ESPN.com.

The Blazers have long lusted after Lee, who also seeks $10 million per season, exactly the amount the Blazers are under the cap. Bartlestein said because Lee is restricted, the Blazers were fearful of waiting 10 days to see if the Knicks would match and instead jumped at the surer thing in Turkoglu.

New York Post