Apparently, opposing teams could be after the Indiana Pacers’ budding big, Myles Turner. Don’t expect him to just be given away, however.
Myles Turner was a risk when the Indiana Pacers selected him in the lottery of the 2015 NBA Draft. Scouts were worried about his running gait. They said he’d be prone to significant injuries. He was still so young and raw when he entered the league, with his true ceiling up to much speculation.
However, now 4 years into his NBA career, Turner has established himself as one of the top centers in the game. You’d be hard pressed to find 4 or 5 other stretchy, two-way centers league-wide that have a similar ability to impact the game on both sides of the court quite like Myles.
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The Indiana Pacers rewarded the still just 23-year-old Turner for his efforts with a nice contract extension last year. It seems there’s incredible mutual interest between the two parties to continue this partnership for the foreseeable future.
So then, what’s this rumor about teams ringing up the Pacers to try to trade for Myles?
Apparently, it’s been happening. According to SportsNet New York, there’s been interest from several teams in Myles’ services both before and after the NBA Draft went down. Thankfully, the Pacers have seemingly made it clear to Turner’s hopeful suitors that it would take a lot to get a deal done for him.
And really, with Turner’s youth and already well-established dominance on defense, the Pacers have every right to essentially shut down any “negotiations” from the get-go. They clearly believe in Myles, and he’s proven year after year that he’s going to work incredibly hard to improve himself. Each season, he’s made a significant jump thanks to his work ethic.
At the same time, you can’t really blame anyone for sending feelers out there to see if Indy would move Myles. It’s been talked to death that Indiana might simply have too much talent at the center position with Domantas Sabonis on the roster as well. And sure, they’re going to try to make room for both guys by having Sabonis shift to power forward, but this might not work.
For now, there’s nothing to worry about if you’re a big Turner fan (as you should be). No one from the Pacers’ camp has said anything to make it seem like they’re even considering shipping him away.
With how the Indiana Pacers’ roster is constructed, rumors surrounding Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis both with likely unfortunately continue for an extended period of time. Until you hear otherwise, however, the team seems all-in on making this duo of bigs work. Fingers crossed they can figure it out.