8p9s Roundtable: The Pacers lock up Myles Turner for 4 more years

What does this mean for Domantas Sabonis?

Furr: So, the question that seems to be on every Pacers fan’s mind right now: What does this mean for Sabonis and his future with the blue and gold?

Tony East: I think the answer is nothing.

Eggers: I think everyone sort of knew that Turner was going to be a part of the equation, regardless of whether Sabonis will be or not. It was doubtful that Turner was going to be completely thrown away in the free agent market or via trade, so this more confirms that than changes the dynamic of the situation.

Assuming Sabonis stays on his current path, the Pacers will have to sink a lot of money into one position to retain both guys long-term. We haven’t really seen the two be able to play significant, effective minutes together on the court, but that could change. I’d say that the extension mostly means nothing, but if Sabonis and Turner can’t fit together in the starting lineup by May, I don’t see Sabonis as a Pacer long-term. But that’s an issue that was present with or without this extension.

Furr: I’d agree with Tony; the answer (at least right now) is nothing. Big picture, I actually think it’s a good thing for Sabonis. Showing some commitment to youth is a welcome sign. While Ryan is right, we haven’t seen these guys play together effectively, it’s only been a year.

The jury is still very out on their pairing, and I’m very in on it. I think it can work beautifully. — Will Furr

Not only that, but Sabonis proved to be a *very* different player than the one the Pacers looked to be acquiring. This was their first real summer together, and definitely the first with full knowledge of who Domas Sabonis was as an NBA player.

The jury is still very out on their pairing, and I’m very in on it. I think it can work beautifully

Tony East: I see no issue with Sabonis and Turner co-existing. At the worst one starts and one doesn’t. They seem like they both have the personality to not care. They know Nate runs lineups matchup dependant down the stretch.

Eggers: How much would you be comfortable paying Sabonis if his future with the Pacers is at the backup 5, though? And is that number anywhere close to what he could fetch from another team in 2020?

East: I’m going to pay him for his production, not his role. ill give him a season to determine what that value would be.

Furr: Marcus Smart just got $13 million a year. This market was terribly depressed, but no one knows how the market will be in 2020 after teams make fools of themselves again next year. I think 13-15 is totally reasonable for a 6th man, and I’d be fine with Sabonis getting that (assuming he progresses anywhere near like he did last year).

However, I don’t think he needs to be a backup 5. That’s my point of contention. I think there’s a real future where he plays 5 on offense and 4 on defense while Myles does the opposite. Their skill sets can be dynamite together if the Pacers give them the space and opportunity to work.

Gibson: I’m a bit more bearish on them playing together. What about the past has you believing that the Pacers can get them to work together?

Furr: Nothing about the past. They came into last year with no familiarity whatsoever. Sabonis was coming off a very bad year of being misused in OKC. While we all wanted to see more of the pairing last year, they just didn’t have a ton of time to spend together before the Pacers were in the thick of it. Turner missed some time throughout and never looked comfortable himself, and Sabonis carved out a role with the 2nd unit (it was unclear if he’d even earn playing time prior to the year).

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My point being, there’s only so much you can do in season. Now that Nate knows who both of these guys are (and they both know who they are and who each other is), it’s a whole different ballgame, so to speak.

These guys are talented, young, they appear to like each other and actively want to make it work playing together, and most importantly — their skill sets complement each other. With a major exception of lateral quickness (no argument that that will be an issue that requires working around), they cover for a lot of each other’s weaknesses. Add in the fact that they both shot 35% from deep last year, and it only gets better.

It’s often missed that Sabonis was a better 3 point shooter than Thad Young last year. If anything, the Pacers spacing would improve with him being out there with Turner.

The defensive questions certainly linger, but I think we saw Nate isn’t afraid of letting Sabonis swing out of his league a bit — he spent enough time on LeBron in the playoffs that I have faith Nate will let him try.