The Indiana Pacers' former frontcourt staple, Myles Turner, has (unfortunately) gotten off to a fine start since jumping ship for the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency.
Turner's gut-wrenching decision to join Indiana's fierce rival and form one of the NBA's most fearsome frontcourt duos with Giannis Antetokounmpo certainly stings in the present, but their growing chemistry will continue to horrify Pacers fans for the next few seasons.
Milwaukee's addition of yet another floor-spacing, shot-blocking big man to pair with the 2021 Finals MVP could be argued as the biggest steal of the offseason, and everyone, including Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, is taking notice of his effectiveness next to the Greek Freak through just six games in 2025-26 (h/t Jamal Collier of ESPN).
"The combination is good," Rivers said. "I think (Turner) does so many things that you don't see in the naked eye. Giannis made a point talking about it to me yesterday, like how many times when Giannis is coming off a pick, he's never had a big dive (toward the basket)."
Sure, the Pacers might not be ready for another miraculous NBA Finals run this season, but Turner and Antetokounmpo will be a massive roadblock for years to come.
Myles Turner's new beginning marks a potential close to the Pacers' latest title window
Alright, maybe it's not yet time to crank the pessimism throttle to full-blast.
However, it's hard not to admit that Turner's match with Antetokounmpo and the Bucks' three-point-heavy, transition-based attack won't be the easiest of Eastern Conference foes to handle moving forward.
Though the Pacers' former No. 11 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft has gotten off to a slow start from a scoring perspective to begin his Bucks tenure, his impact on Milwaukee's spacing and as their most relied-upon rim-deterrent should invoke a tinge of fear.
Turner's first six outings with the Bucks have seen him average just 9.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks while compiling an ugly 49.1% effective field goal percentage, but he has made a world of difference for a roster boasting unlimited outside shot-making talent.
The worst part of the move from Indiana's perspective is that their deepest, darkest schematic secrets may have been compromised. It's become evident that after Turner's arrival, Rivers and the rest of Milwaukee's coaching staff aimed to take a page out of the Pacers' book by instilling a new run-and-gun approach.
If anything, the agile center's career-best 2.5-assist figure to this juncture could be pinned as evidence that Turner came over with a few intriguing ideas, and that Rivers trusts him to man the controls more often and to execute a few concepts that he'd previously spent a decade learning as a Pacer.
There's no question that Pacers fans have been left in a helpless spot in the aftermath of Turner's departure and Indiana's unbelievable injury misfortune, but the fact that he and Antetokounmpo will have plenty of time to learn each other's habits over the course of the next four seasons will only continue to amplify that feeling.