Much has been made over the past week about the role Toronto's ethnic nature and large Turkish community played in helping lure Hedo Turkoglu to the Raptors .
But it was another of the city's assets that was just as instrumental, if not more so, in convincing the free agent forward to head north, and that's Chris Bosh. "Little known fact, Chris helped recruit Hedo last Friday," Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo said yesterday at a news conference introducing the Turkish star.
"(I) reached out to Chris, Chris made a phone call and I would believe that would be a very important call for this guy to get when Chris Bosh calls you and says, 'I want you to come play for us and make us better.' "
And it was.
"When I heard his voice, I was really happy about it," said Turkoglu, who gets a five-year deal reportedly worth about $53 million US. "He's been an all-star in this league and he's been a dominant player. I was just happy to hear I'm welcome by that type of guy, it's really important."
Bosh's future -- he can become a free agent next summer -- has been in the backdrop of everything the Raptors have done so far this off-season as Colangelo tries to build a team that will convince his four-time all-star power forward to stay.
The addition of Turkoglu, a player Colangelo has long coveted, is the master stroke, particularly by accomplishing it while retaining the flexibility for more moves.
To make it happen, Colangelo helped orchestrate a complex four-team deal that included a pair of sign-and-trades that also landed him forward Devean George and swingman Antoine Wright from the Dallas Mavericks.
The Raptors sent cash to the Orlando Magic in a sign-and-trade for Turkoglu, a 2016 second-round draft pick to the Memphis Grizzlies and forward Kris Humphries, centre Nathan Jawai and cash to the Mavericks, who got Shawn Marion in a sign-and-trade with Toronto.
Dallas also sent cash to the Magic, and traded swingman Jerry Stackhouse and cash to the Grizzlies for guard Greg Buckner.
The end result is a dramatic roster facelift for the Raptors , who finished a dismal 33-49 last season.
There's more to come, too.
Colangelo's manoeuvring leaves the Raptors just below the $57.7-million salary cap, with about $12 million to spend before hitting the luxury-tax level.
Throw in the fact George and Wright both have expiring contracts, and Colangelo still has plenty of chips to play this summer.
