Myles Turner has been an integral part of the Indiana Pacers for a decade. The 11th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft averaged 15.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.8 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field, 39.6% from three-point range and 77.3% from the free-throw line.
While the Pacers are preparing for their second consecutive appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals, Turner’s pending free agency looms large over the franchise. A recent prediction suggested that the veteran center could receive a deal worth $120 million.
“Indiana is close enough to the luxury-tax line that a new deal for Myles Turner would almost certainly push the payroll past it,” Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley wrote Wednesday. “The Pacers last paid the tax in 2005, and according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, “there are no plans to go into it next season.” However, that doesn’t mean they’ll definitely find themselves without the 29-year-old’s unicorn blend of shot-blocking and floor-spacing at the center spot. In fact, Windhorst added that “the Pacers absolutely want to keep Turner.”… Even in a cash-strapped market, he should find significantly better than his current $19.9 million salary. Indiana needs to find that money somewhere, and it could look to the trade market to help clear it. The Pacers don’t really have bad money on the books, though, so if they won’t pay the tax, they might have to sacrifice a useful role player like Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin or T.J. McConnell. Look for them to make the necessary cuts to bring Turner back on a four-year deal in the $120 million range.”
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Buckley noted that Turner’s 2024-25 season is just one of four years where a player averaged at least two three pointers made and two blocks per game. His 39.6% from deep also ranks the best of any player on that shortlist. While the former Texas Longhorn has consistently been in trade rumors, one has to wonder if he would leave money on the table to remain with the only NBA franchise he has known — particularly now that they have become contenders after failing to win a postseason series during his first eight years.
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