The Raptors have signed 33-year old center Rasho Nesterovic. Nesterovic played in 70 games (19 starts) with the Pacers last season and he averaged 17.3 minutes, 6.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He has now played in 769 games (587 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 22.8 minutes, 7.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Nesterovic should be able to give the Raptors 15-20 solid minutes next season off the bench.

The Indiana Pacers are not expected to match the 4-year, $20 million dollar offer sheet to Jarrett Jack that the Raptors offered him last week. The 25-year old Jack would likely become the starting shooting guard for the Raptors this season. He played in 82 games (53 starts) for the Pacers last year and he averaged 33.1 minutes, 13.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He has now played in 322 games (152 starts) in his 4-year NBA career and he has averaged 28.6 minutes, 10.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. This was a good move for the Raptors who are building a very nice basketball team for the 2009-2010 NBA season.

The Raptors have officially acquired 30-year old small forward Hedo Turkoglu in this trade. They also received 25-year old SG/SF Antoine Wright and 31-year old SF Devean George from the Mavericks. The Raptors traded 31-year old SF Shawn Marion, 24-year old PF Kris Humphries and 22-year old center Nathan Jawai to the Mavericks. . The Mavericks also got 32-year old shooting guard Greg Buckner (from Memphis) in this trade. 34-year old SG Jerry Stackhouse went to the Grizzlies along with cash from the Mavericks. The Magic acquired a $10 million dollar trade exception plus some cash in this deal.

Hedo Turkoglu was without the biggest part of this trade as far as the Raptors were concerned. But, SG/SF Antoine Wright could replace the departed Anthony Parker (signed with Cavs) in the starting lineup. He played in 65 games (53 starts) for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 7.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Wright has now played in 223 games (86 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 19.2 minutes, 5.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Devean George could give the Raptors some solid minutes next season off the bench. George played in 43 games (17 starts) for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 16.5 minutes, 3.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. He has now played in 585 games (104 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 18.7 minutes, 5.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.

Shawn Marion just didn’t seem to fit in with the Raptors. He played in 27 games (all starts) with the Raptors last season and he averaged 35.8 minutes, 14.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Kris Humphries only played in 29 games (0 starts) last season for the Raptors and he averaged 9.1 minutes, 3.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Nathan Jawai just couldn’t get on the court for the Raptors as a rookie last season. He played in only 6 games (0 starts) for the Raptors last season and he averaged 3.2 minutes, 0.3 points and 0.3 rebounds per game.

This trade was a good one for the Raptors as they added a couple of nice pieces in Wright and George along with Turkoglu.

The Raptors have signed 30-year old small forward Hedo Turkoglu to a 5-year contract worth slightly more than $50 million bucks. Turkoglu played in 77 games (all starts) for the Magic last season and he averaged 36.6 minutes, 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. This was a good signing for the Raptors as Turkoglu’s style fits the running game the Raptors like on offense. Turkoglu has now played in 678 games (374 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 27.9 minutes, 12.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Turkoglu is also a good three point shooter hitting 38.5% of his shots from that range.

UPDATE: Hedo Turkoglu was officially acquired in a big 4-team trade involving the Mavericks, Grizzlies and Magic.