Clippers Sign Hedo Turkoglu, Release Wayns

12:18pm: The Clippers have officially announced the deal. The team’s press release adds that the Clippers have released Maalik Wayns, terminating his 10-day contract, which had been set to expire Friday. The release also announces a second 10-day deal for Darius Morris, but it doesn’t mention the length of Turkoglu’s contract, almost certainly signifying that agent Jim Tanner has secured a deal for the rest of the season for Turkoglu, as had been expected.

THURSDAY, 11:34am: Turkoglu tweets that the deal is official, though there’s been no announcement from the team (hat tip to Sportando).

WEDNESDAY, 9:50pm: The Clippers are set to sign Hedo Turkoglu on Thursday, reports Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Turkoglu was to undergo a physical today, and the team appeared ready to bring him aboard pending the results, as Ismail Senol of NTV Spor in Turkey reported earlier today. The deal will cover the rest of the season, according to Senol.

“He’s another shooter,” Clippers boss Doc Rivers said, according to Markazi. “Sometimes you don’t bring a guy in because a guy is not doing something. You bring a guy in because he does something our other guys do as well. He’s another shooter and can space the floor. He’s very skilled. We would like to take advantage of that.”

Turkoglu, 34, comes to the Clippers after the Magic waived him earlier this month, saving half of his $12MM salary this season before it became fully guaranteed. The Clippers can only offer the minimum salary, but it doesn’t appear they had much competition for the Jim Tanner client. The Lakers and Hawks registered interest in the forward while he was still with the Magic, but the Lakers decided against pursuing him in free agency, and Atlanta hasn’t been connected with him recently either.

The Clippers won’t have to make a roster move if the deal goes down Thursday, since their 10-day deal with Darius Morris will expire overnight. Another roster spot will open with the expiration of their 10-day contract with Maalik Wayns on Friday night, and Rivers indicated the team is still looking for other free agents to add, notes Markazi, who mentions Lamar Odom as a possibility. The team apparently still has interest in Sasha Vujacic, as well.

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