Indiana Pacers: A Myles Turner trade this season is starting to feel inevitable

As customary with the Indiana Pacers experience in recent years, the ever-persistent quizzing on the Myles Turner–Domantas Sabonis frontcourt partnership has been front and center. With the club going through perhaps its worst season since the previous decade, the noise around the duo’s breakup is louder than before.

Many are anticipating that the Pacers drop the hammer on one of the big men to kick off a retooling—a possibility that can similarly mask as more of wishful thinking given Indiana’s long precedence for valuing continuity more than most teams to cope with their market deficits.

That conundrum, however, may soon be getting the rightful conclusion it deserves. And if the recent games hold definitive heft for stuck-in-the-middle Indiana, Turner, the longest tenured Pacer, could be the likelier one to leave the Circle City.

Recent games could point to Myles Turner as the odd man out for the Indiana Pacers

The argument for keeping Myles Turner, all things considered, is just as solid as the case for keeping Domantas Sabonis. While he is not the All-Star player that the latter is, his defensive prowess, deep connection with the city, and conduciveness to fit any personnel are all justified grounds for keeping him.

Sabonis, however, has the grand advantage of being too talented to simply dangle away. It’s clear that the front office will not be rebuilding any time soon, and to maximize their competitive window, the jury would probably be more assured of having an established All-Star spearhead a turnaround for the foreseeable future.

The return of Lance Stephenson to the franchise has also revitalized a connection worth exploring more. His chemistry with Sabonis has been nothing less than galvanizing to the point that if he catalyzes the Indiana Pacers to a mini-turnaround at some point this season, you have to give them a bigger canvass to work with.

That canvass could still very much include Turner, who is the sheer anchor in the middle for the Pacers. However, arguably logging a career-year, his value has never been higher. And with the market for him appearing to be more robust than Sabonis, for reasons of fit and (relative) affordability, Indiana could arguably get a safer return by pulling the trigger on a trade for him, instead of working on the hypotheticals and pegging on riskier propositions for Domas.

For logical reasons, I do not trust the Indiana Pacers front office at all to trade Myles Turner to satisfy the will of the consensus—and well, it is just apt—after all, the rangy big man brings with him one of the most unique skillsets in basketball.

However, given recent signs, it would not shock me at all if the franchise warms up to the idea of letting its homegrown stalwart flourish in a new home.