Indiana Pacers: Myles Turner’s recent injury could affect his trade value

As the Indiana Pacers size up to make some roster changes ahead of the trade deadline, rival teams around the league are seeking opportunities to claw their way into trade discussions with the team, particularly Myles Turner.

Turner, who started the season off seemingly on track for a career-year, has seen his production cool off in recent weeks, but he remains an attractive option for teams in need of a defensive boost in the middle. However, one factor could very well affect his value on the market—the Indiana injury bug.

While he started off appearing on 41 of the Pacers’ first 42 games, Turner missed the previous contest against LA with a foot injury, of which the rangy center is seeking a second opinion on, raising concerns about how it could affect his market value as a hot commodity with the deadline just a few weeks away.

Myles Turner’s foot injury could put a damper on how the Indiana Pacers can maneuver around the trade deadline

How severe his injury could be remains up in the air, but the need for a second opinion from a specialist is not a particularly encouraging sign, even at this juncture. Myles Turner has been in his own rounds of foot injuries in the past, and this could possibly be another one of those pesky ones if the prognosis is worse than expected.

If so, his trade value could plummet a bit more, feasibly turning off teams who are looking at him as more of a luxury addition. Meanwhile, those with more urgent needs for defense and a boost in their center rotation, like Dallas and Charlotte, two perceived frontrunners for his services, could refrain from dangling away anything of substantial value.

What could happen then if ideal trading partners for Turner back off from the transaction panel is that the Indiana Pacers hold on to him and extend discussions to the offseason, which is still a viable track to take. It certainly won’t appease a lot of fans, but they could ultimately be better off allowing him to recover and regain his market value up.

Again, all these are hinged on the presumption that Myles’ injury is more than a minor one. Hopefully, it’s not as major as it seems, so not only can the Pacers maximize his value, but most importantly, for him to simple be able to play and flash his skills on the nightly.