Pacers Pulse: Myles Turner’s Busy Summer Continues

Myles Turner had a busy week running his basketball camp in Euless, Texas.

It has been busy all offseason for Myles Turner, but that didn’t stop him from finding time to host his basketball camp back in his hometown of Euless, Texas last week.

For Turner, it is simply giving back to the community that raised him, according to CW33’s Tim Roberts.

More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds

• 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
• Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
• 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
• 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
• Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?

"“It’s incredible, man. You can see I’m working hard, worked up quite a sweat and I’m just ready to go out here,” Turner said at his basketball camp. “I love helping kids achieve their goals, achieve their dreams. Someone helped me when I was younger and I want to be that influence, that voice in this community.“My dad was a huge hero, my high school coach, Coach Villines, Shawn Williams, also here helping me with the camp, so those are just a couple of the influences to name a few.”A member of last year’s NBA All-Rookie Team, This 6’11”, 20-year-old already knows how big of an impact and how much of a role model he can be for these local kids.“It’s huge, man. I feel like I’m one the first to make it out of this area, professionally for basketball and I want to make sure they everybody puts a name with the face for years to come,” Turner said."

He told The Source he plans on doing this every year, and possibly even expand it.

"For two days, Turner coached, played and laughed at Euless Trinity High School. He says he accomplished his main goal for the week: bringing the community together.“It was an incredible camp,” he told us over the phone. “The goal is to have another one of these every year. I wanna expand it. Have one maybe back in Austin, where I went to college, have one in Indianapolis, where I’m playing. It was a great success.”"

If his goal was to bring the community together, it looks like he can consider that mission accomplished.

https://twitter.com/Original_Turner/status/764230942424608768

If nothing else, it gave him a chance to work on his conditioning while trying to outrun a gym full of campers.

As much fun as Turner has been to watch on the court, he continues to be one of the most likeable Indiana Pacers off the court as well.

More on Myles Turner…

Myles was already positioning himself as one of the young players to watch in the 2016-17 season but after his performance with the USA Select team, those expectations are higher than ever.

High enough for NBA.com’s Fran Blinebury to lead off with Turner in his look ahead at who will win the KIA Most Improved Player Award.

"Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers: The 6-foot-11 center out of the University of Texas just turned in a rookie season when he averaged 10.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots (while playing just 22 minutes per game). He stepped into the hole left by veteran center Roy Hibbert and helped the Pacers start the transition to a new era while earning All-Rookie second team honors. Just 20 years old, Turner took another step forward in the playoffs when he made himself a force in the paint at both ends of the floor. Team president Larry Bird is so high on Turner that the plan that is for Paul George and him to be the 1-2 punch going forward. Turner also spent the summer playing for the USA Basketball Select Team that practiced against the Rio Olympic team and impressed many of the All-Stars who make up Team USA. The summer spent getting guidance from the likes of coaches Mike Krzyzewski and Gregg Popovich should accelerate the learning curve and get the Pacers back to being challengers to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East."

If Turner can make the type of leap Blinebury thinks is possible — and one we think he’s capable of — then this season could be special for the Indiana Pacers.

The Best Moves

Speaking of Myles Turner, according to Hoops Habit’s Joshua Cornelissen, the smartest thing the Pacers did this offseason was to make sure Myles Turner gets all the minutes he’ll want this season.

"That drive to sustain success — and increase it — led Bird to make sweeping changes to the coaches and players.It could have pushed him to keep a veteran presence to start at center. It is a hard choice to trust a young, raw player at the pivot.Phoenix signed Tyson Chandler last offseason because they didn’t trust Alex Len yet; this July the New York Knicks brought in Joakim Noah rather than allow Porzingis to star in the middle.But Bird put his trust in the second-year player, allowing Ian Mahinmi to walk in free agency and signing Al Jefferson to be a backup.Myles Turner has all the pieces to put together a star player, one who can run the floor and make an impact on both ends of the court. The Pacers are giving him the opportunity to become just that."

Cornelissen also liked the trade for Jeff Teague, but you’ll need to check out his post to read more about that.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Not every move the Indiana Pacers made (or move they didn’t make) this offseason is receiving praise.

Sir Charles in Charge’s Dylan Hughes looked at the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Pacers offseason and as far as the bad goes, Hughes wasn’t happy with the Pacers lack of moves considering the shooting guard position.

With Monta Ellis and Jeff Teague paired together, Hughes sees trouble for the Pacers and wishes Indiana wasn’t starting Ellis.

"Still, going after someone like Courtney Lee – who can shoot and defend – while moving Ellis to a bench role (or trading him) would have probably ended up working a lot better. That would improve the starting lineup’s defense and spacing, while allowing Ellis to wreck havoc on weak reserve guards across the league.Having these two together isn’t a death sentence, but if it isn’t working by around the All-Star Break, Bird might have to look to move him for a player that fits better. Or, McMillan could move Ellis to the bench and start C.J. Miles, who fills that 3-and-D role. Only problem there is Miles has been a streaky shooter his whole career, and here are his three-point shooting numbers in a four-month stretch from last season as an example:November: 44 percentDecember: 38 percentJanuary: 22 percentFebruary: 32 percentBird may feel more comfortable keeping Miles in a reserve role, and going out and trying to move Ellis for a more consistent replacement."

With the Pacers looking to maximize the prime years of PG’s career, don’t be surprised to see Bird make a trade if things are working out.

Date Night with the Youngs

Very romantic.

Rakeem Chrismas Keeps It Creepy

Remember when we talked about Rakeem Christmas’ creepy apartment?

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJGT4txAHq0/

Well, it looks like he’s got a new piece of decor for it.

Team USA Basketball’s Volleyball Team

The USA Basketball team spent some time on the beach in Rio on Monday and tried their hand at volleyball. But it didn’t work out as well as you might think according to USA Today’s Adam Joseph.

https://twitter.com/its_whitney/status/765345758958620672

Paul George thought this team was going to dominate in Rio, so perhaps a day at the beach having some fun is a good way to reset things before they play Argentina on Wednesday.

Next: 3 Burning Questions for the Indiana Pacers: Bench Edition

That game tips off at 5:45 p.m.