Rumored Myles Turner free agency price suddenly looks like a bargain
Whether fans like it or not, the Indiana Pacers will most likely field a lot of calls regarding center Myles Turner. Be it the Los Angeles Lakers or another lurking club, considering the big man’s contract situation, it’s simply pure diligence for the front office to see what they can potentially get for him in a trade.
That being said, the longtime Pacer has had a tremendous start to the season. Despite some inconsistencies shoehorned in his five appearances so far after missing the first four games of the season, Turner is well on pace to shatter some career bests if his current production stays up to par.
If so, then the rumored price of keeping him in free agency could make the Pacers brass be more willing to explore extension talks in the offseason.
Rumored price of keeping Myles Turner in free agency suddenly looks like a bargain for the Indiana Pacers
According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, expectations around the league revolve around Myles Turner costing only a bit more than what he currently makes in free agency.
"There’s a belief around the league looking ahead that Turner and his team will seek over $20 million annually in free agency as an unrestricted free agent. Previously, there were rumblings about a potential Malcolm Brogdon type of extension around those numbers (two years, $45 million). Those extension talks were previously (discussed), not anything recently, to be clear. I’m sure he felt a certain way when they made the offer sheet to Ayton. Some executives I’ve spoken to think that he can earn up to that $20 million annually. Some compare him in the Clint Capela range ($21 million next season)."
If this holds true, then keeping Turner could play into Indiana’s cards. Whether they intend to keep him for the entire duration of the hypothetical deal or not, the Pacers should be able to enjoy the utmost flexibility that is attendant with retaining him. After all, the $20 million range is a plenty attractive benchmark for the franchise to kick things off in negotiations.
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The Pacers are expected to tout anywhere between $36 to $51 million in cap space in the following offseason. A bulk of those would probably be shelved to gear up for expensive extension talks with their other core players, but the team should still have more than enough to pitch an enticing offer to Turner.
Even better, no matter what happens, Turner will always be among the most in-demand players in the league, meaning that the Pacers should have no problem offloading him if such a need arises. While he may not always post 37 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks while sinking three triples every night, just the pure concept of Myles Turner will easily suffice to satiate the thirst of modern roster engineers.
To conclude, while it’s too early to pin Myles Turner as a breakout player this season or to decide that attractive trade offers will probably just be a product of the imagination, the thought of keeping him has suddenly become more plausible, especially if the price that the Indiana Pacers would have to pay to keep him is consistent with what it is believed to be.
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