Routinely one of basketball’s premiere shot blockers and interior defenders, Indiana Pacers’ Myles Turner continued to garner Defensive Player of the Year noise in the recently concluded season before being sidelined with a toe injury that shelved him for the latter part of the campaign. While he failed to accrue much traction for the award with his long layoff, his reputation trickles across the league, with the Golden State Warriors reportedly expressing interest in the big man.
After an up and down, injury-riddled year that eventually resulted in a lottery finish, the Warriors are looking to retool to make a quick turnaround and get back to contention. With injured All-NBA cog Klay Thompson projected to be healthy next season, the Dubs will certainly be a force to be reckoned with in the tough Western Conference.
The Indiana Pacers could be a trade partner for the Golden State Warriors with Myles Turner at the crux of discussions
While the Indiana Pacers are coming off a disappointing season of their own, things are starting to look better for the franchise after hiring championship coach Rick Carlisle following a short, yet tumultuous stint with Nate Bjorkgren manning the sidelines. All signs now point to the Blue and Gold remaining invested in winning, as opposed to a rebuild which lurked as a possibility.
Myles Turner, the longest-tenured Pacer, may very well be Indiana’s best shot at getting an extensive pool of offers. His rare skillset as a menacing rim protector while being a reliable three-point shooter on offense fits perfectly with most teams.
The Warriors, with their defensive identity and intricate scoring attack, are tabbed to be aggressive in their pursuit of the young center. Thus, what could a deal between both sides look like? Here are three trade ideas involving Golden State for Myles Turner, ranked from best to worst.
The Warriors can field an intriguing offer for Indiana Pacers’ Myles Turner
Indiana makes for a wonderful trade partner because the team boasts a roster full of fringe All-Stars and key rotation players who have great contracts. Myles Turner is one of those, with him still locked up for two more years under 20 million per season.
The same can’t be said for Golden State though, with the franchise paying the luxury tax for quite some time now. Sure, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green deserve every penny of their contracts, but Andrew Wiggins, their third-most expensive player, is probably overpriced at 29 million per year, despite his renewed proficiency as an above-average two-way player.
On that virtue, the Warriors may probably offer a deal like this:
On the surface, this isn’t a bad deal at all, especially with the Pacers essentially getting two great assets in Wiggins and the 7th overall pick, as well as an explosive bench piece in Paschall, in this trade. However, the downside is that Indiana has long avoided booming contracts, or absorbing such, because it limits the team’s flexibility and is a giant risk on a small market like Indiana where even their own stars are constant flight risks.
Really, the only way for this to happen is if the Pacers feel that the urge to shift to small ball is stronger than an intermittent, yet harmless, period to test out the current crop under a prized head coach. After all, this deal can extend over to the trade deadline, when both teams have a clearer grasp of what their rosters need to better compete.
Ultimately, this will be a question of principles on the part of Indiana. After all, while giving up the seventh pick is quite heavy, the Warriors will probably take a liking to this deal since Turner is a very good fit in theory to complement their roster. Also, the 13th pick isn’t a bad position to select in this deep draft. Wiggins’ massive contract may be the impetus that gives the Pacers the leverage here.
The Indiana Pacers will have alternatives, but the grass won’t be greener
If you didn’t like the previous trade idea, odds are you’re not gonna like the alternative routes either. After all, Wiggins is the best that the Warriors can send in a trade for Myles Turner, both on a financial and on-court perspective.
The other asset that Golden State can send out, aside from their core, of course, is an uncertain one. Kelly Oubre Jr. is entering free agency, but the Dubs can retain him despite being well over the cap since they have his Bird rights. Thus, a sign-and-trade is not out of the woods, but the hypothetical trade involving the talented wing may not be attractive for the Pacers compared to the previous one.
In a quick glance, this isn’t the worst move to make. It’s actually a reasonable deal, but compared to the previous one with Andrew Wiggins, this does feel like a streamlined offer from the Warriors. At this juncture, it’s unlikely that Oubre Jr. adds a dimension to the game that Wiggins can’t, with the latter easily besting him in areas he excel at, which is on defense and spot-up shooting.
What’s enticing here is the 14th pick, which means that Indiana can get back-to-back selections in the first round as they also own the 13th selection. As mentioned, Paschall is one of the league’s better backup bigs, while Oubre himself is a very switchable and versatile player in his own right.
The thing holding this deal back, aside from the fact that it is worse than the previous one, is the burden that this gives on the Warriors. After all, they can simply let go of Oubre and trade a guaranteed contract to free themselves of what can very well be an expensive contract for the swingman and have more wiggle room to improve the bench.
Expanding the deal to include another key piece won’t benefit the Indiana Pacers
The worst possible move in the same trade-Myles-Turner trade is to acquire another big in return for the center. After all, the Indiana Pacers will only move the block artist in an attempt to go full throttle on small ball around Domantas Sabonis.
If the Warriors attempt to go ballistic in a trade offer, their best possible deal will be simply intrusive to what the Pacers are trying to build. Hence, expanding the deal to include another key Indiana player to make the salaries only works to Golden State’s benefit.
This deal will undoubtedly give the competitive fan some sore eyes. However, it is not outside the realm of possibility, although the one and only way for this to happen is if the Pacers suddenly pivot to a rebuild which, given the recent coaching hire, is probably inexistent on the franchise’s bucket list.
On a rebuilding aspect, this deal makes sense. James Wiseman is a very intriguing talent who simply needs more time to hone his game. Andrew Wiggins can be an asset to net the team some draft picks for a win-now franchise needing reliable two-way talent on the wings. The seventh overall pick is, of course, nothing to scoff at in the upcoming draft.
For the ever-competitive Pacers though, this is brewed nightmare. It won’t catapult them to the nadir of the NBA, but because Indiana never rebuilds from scratch, the odds of this happening are virtually zero. Fans can be assured that this idea will remain as a concept for as long as the Pacers…remain the Pacers.