Magic Waive Hedo Turkoglu

4:03pm: The Magic officially announced that Turkoglu has been waived.

12:30pm: The Magic will waive Hedo Turkoglu today at 4pm CT, according to John Denton of NBA.com (on Twitter). The move has been long expected for the veteran, who is on a $12MM contract that is only partially guaranteed for $6MM.

There was some speculation that Turkoglu could serve as a trade chip for the Magic, not unlike Andrew Bynum and the Cavs.  However, unlike the Cavs, the Magic were mostly unwilling to take on salary in a trade and, of course, Turkoglu offers much less upside than Bynum.

According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, the 34-year-old badly wants to return to the NBA and prove himself once again.  Back in the fall, the Wolves were said to have interest in Turkoglu if he was cut loose by Orlando.  If the interest is still there and the former offensive standout wants to come aboard, Minnesota can cut Robbie Hummel loose to make room.  Hummel’s contract doesn’t become guaranteed until January 10th (next Friday).

The small forward, who turns 35 in March, played in only eleven games last season because of injury and a 10-game suspension that stemmed from a positive test for methenolone.  He’s spent seven and a half seasons with the Magic over two separate stints.  Across 13 seasons with the Kings, Spurs, Magic, Raptors, and Suns, the native of Turkey owns averages of 11.9 PPG and 4.2 RPG with a 42.6% field goal percentage.  He also boasts a career 38.1% rate of success from downtown and if he can find his stroke once again, he could find himself with multiple suitors in the New Year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.