Indiana Pacers: 4 ideal replacements for Myles Turner if he is traded

Defense wins championships. Even in this era where offense is more heavily favored by most, no team can expect to win a title without being able to fight and hustle in the less glamorous side of the floor. Unsurprisingly, the Indiana Pacers easily failed to capture a banner this year or even make the playoffs with their mediocre defense.

The Blue and Gold have perennially been one of the league’s better defensive teams. For quite some time, the team rested its laurels on the brilliance of defensive anchor Myles Turner as the centerpiece on D. However, after their massively disappointing campaign, the Pacers find themselves on the verge of a massive change.

The Indiana Pacers need a bold answer for their big man plight

As I’ve pointed out before, Indiana has to settle the Myles Turner-Domantas Sabonis conundrum. Every passing season, it’s becoming clearer that the big man tandem can only take you so far, especially with their hit-and-miss health and luck with injuries. Problem is, this is also a question of team identity; should the Pacers retain their defensive identity with Turner or go full throttle on offense with Sabonis?

Fans are split between the talented bigs, but with the current outfit of the NBA, keeping Sabonis seems more practical, especially with his extraordinary skillset. Turner is a legitimate DPOY-level defender, but he is by no means irreplaceable, especially when there are alternatives that can offer most of what he does without posing a logjam in the frontcourt. Thus, if the Indiana Pacers were to trade him, who should be his replacement?