Myles Turner will enter next season as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. When he left the Indiana Pacers, it was a total shock to basically everyone, and it's also becoming increasingly obvious that Turner won't exactly have an ideal scenario with his new team.
Now I understand that most Pacers fans probably still have a great deal of appreciation for Myles. After you spend a decade with a team, compete your tail off year after year, make an NBA Finals and beat just about every trade allegation possible until the end, you're going to become a legend of that organization, more than likely.
This isn't a matter of Pacers fans having any ill wishes for Turner's career now. Rather, it's about objectively considering that he's probably in a worse position than he was before.
Last year's Pacers were a team of destiny. You don't go on the kind of run they did in the postseason without garnering the respect of almost every neutral NBA fan out there, and etching your name into the history books overnight. Myles was a crucial part of one of the greatest squads in Indiana franchise history.
The Bucks aren't in as good a position as the Pacers were last year
Even if you want to say there were other objectively more talented Pacers teams, you have to admit last year's squad just had an "it" factor that you don't see very often. They were America's team by the time June came around, and rightfully so.
Now, Turner will be joining a Bucks team where he might be the second-best actively rostered player. Make no mistake about it: Myles is going to provide that team a big lift. He'll open up a lot of driving lanes for Giannis Antetokounmpo, give them steady rim protection and floor-spacing, and I think make them overall a lot better squad.
But that doesn't change the fact that he's now heading into a position that's a downgrade from where he was at this time a year ago. Milwaukee is going to have a hard time making a deep run in the East playoffs, even with the admittedly depleted depth of great teams in the conference.
It just hurts to see for Pacers fans. Myles Turner will always be beloved in the state of Indiana, and I don't blame the fanbase one bit for wishing he was still competing in the blue and gold.