Should the Indiana Pacers trade Myles Turner or Domantas Sabonis?
By Luke Parrish
Why the Indiana Pacers should trade Myles Turner
Myles Turner has always been seen as a high-ceiling player with a defensive impact that cannot be denied. While he was always expected to eventually make a leap on offense, that has still not come around. He’s hovered right around 12.5 points per game throughout his career while shooting a respectable 35.2 percent from three-point range.
His three-point attempts have gone up considerably over the last two seasons but his connection rate has dropped in that same period, causing some concerns with just how dangerous he is from outside. At the same time, Turner looked very good as a driver last season when his shots were not falling.
While his defensive value is absurd, the Pacers still struggled mightily on that end last season. Even though the offense was the highest-scoring unit in franchise history, the defense made it impossible to win important games. Turner would be a hot commodity around the league for teams searching for a defensive ace.
Turner may not elicit the same return as Sabonis but there will be teams hot on his trail this summer. Moving him allows the Pacers to retain their top three scorers from last season in addition to T.J. Warren who will return from injury. If they can get a wing defender in return for Turner, it would be a major win.
Goga Bitadze has emerged as the bench version of Myles, serving as a strong rim protector and floor spacer. He took a pretty significant leap forward last season when he was on the floor but his playing time is still extremely limited. Trading Turner could create more minutes for the younger Goga as he develops into a larger role in the NBA.
With how injuries have plagued the roster in the past, and for Goga himself, having him off the bench gives some insurance for a Domas-led team but does not force him into the starting lineup.
Losing Myles would not be easy but given that Sabonis is the better player, trading Turner makes the most sense from a win-now standpoint.