Fischer: Myles Turner Expected To Re-Sign With Pacers
Myles Turner will be one of the NBA’s marquee free agents this summer, but it sounds like he probably won’t be going anywhere. According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), there’s a “rising expectation” around the NBA that the veteran center will re-sign with the Pacers.
Turner is finishing his 10th season in Indiana after being selected with the 11th pick of the 2015 draft. The 6’11” big man has helped the Pacers reach the Eastern Conference Finals each of the past two seasons, and those back-to-back deep playoff runs have contributed to the league-wide perception that Indiana will do what it takes to retain him this summer, Fischer writes.
While Turner has been the subject of trade rumors several times during the past decade, Indiana never pulled the trigger on a deal.
With the 29-year-old on an expiring contract this season and not eligible for an extension prior to free agency, there was more speculation leading up to February’s trade deadline that he might be gettable, but the Pacers never appeared to seriously entertain the idea of moving him this year, which suggested they felt good about their odds of negotiating a new deal this offseason.
Turner’s current contract, which he signed in January 2023, was a two-year extension worth $41MM. He has made a strong case over the last two seasons for a raise on that $20.5MM annual salary, having continued to serve as the Pacers’ defensive anchor while providing strong offensive production. In 149 regular season outings since the start of 2023/24, he has averaged 16.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game on .503/.379/.773 shooting.
Rudy Gobert (three years, $109.5MM) and Jarrett Allen (three years, $90.7MM) are among the veteran centers who have signed contract extensions during the 2024/25 season that might come up as comparables for Turner during his upcoming negotiations. Those deals will cover Gobert’s age 33-to-35 seasons and Allen’s age 28-to-30 seasons. Turner will turn 30 next March.
Investing heavily in Turner could create some cap issues for the Pacers, who have historically remained out of luxury tax territory — they haven’t been a taxpayer since 2006 and have paid just under $9MM in total tax penalties since the system was introduced nearly 25 years ago.
Indiana already has $165MM in guaranteed money on its books next season for 10 players, with the luxury tax line projected to come in at $187.9MM. If the Pacers have to pay $30MM+ per year to re-sign Turner and want to stay out of tax territory, they’d have to shed salary elsewhere on the roster. According to Fischer, rival teams are anticipating “roster-consolidation trade conversations” in Indiana.
Luke Adams contributed to this story.
And-Ones: East/West, Stephenson, East Finals, World Cup
The stunning events that occurred on Monday, namely Dallas and San Antonio moving up to No. 1 and No. 2 in the draft lottery and Celtics star Jayson Tatum tearing his Achilles tendon, will reverberate through the NBA for years to come. As Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes, there was already a significant divide in star power between the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference — now there could be a “chasm.”
“The West just keeps getting richer,” one league executive told Bontemps. “How come everybody keeps going to the West? For the veteran players, you could say it’s better weather, going to California, better organizations. But they’ve also just gotten really lucky.
“It seems like every time there’s one of these generational talents — Victor (Wembanyama), Zion (Williamson), Anthony Davis — they just end up in the West. It’s just bad luck … it is what it is.”
Aside from Indiana, New York and Cleveland, Tatum’s injury means there are suddenly major question marks in the East, which could make teams more aggressive on the trade market. There’s a possibility that Giannis Antetokounmpo could be traded to the West as well.
“Cooper Flagg is going to the West for the next 10 years, Giannis could be headed West, Tatum is out of the mix for a year and the Celtics likely are, too,” a scout said. “Good for East teams who are trying to make the Finals.”
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA swingman Lance Stephenson is signing a contract to play in the BIG3 for the 3×3 league’s upcoming season, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Stephenson, who played for eight NBA teams across 10 seasons from 2010-22, spent most of his professional career in Indiana. He last played in the G League for the Iowa Wolves in 2023/24.
- While the Pacers don’t yet know which team they’ll be facing, the Eastern Conference Finals schedule has been announced (Twitter link via Michael Preston). The series will begin on May 21, with games played every other day until a potential Game 7 on June 2.
- FIBA has announced the draw for the 2027 World Cup qualifiers, officially confirming the groups for the Africa, Americas, Asian, and European events. Team USA will be in group A of the Americas qualifiers, alongside the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and a to-be-determined fourth team that makes it through the pre-qualifiers.
- FIBA is looking to engage the NCAA about a possible letter of clearance system for international players who want to leave their teams for a college program, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter links). As Givony points out, international teams already have the ability to block a player from leaving if he’s under contract, so it’s unclear why the NCAA would agree to a change that would give European teams more leeway to prevent a young prospect from moving stateside.
Rory Maher contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Pacers, Bryant, Pistons, Duren, Giannis
The intensity and pace at which the Pacers play makes them a tough out in the postseason. Indiana dusted off a weary, banged-up Cavaliers team in five games and now awaits the winner of the Boston-New York series in the Pacers’ second straight trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.
“It’s hard to play at our pace over a seven-game series,” guard Tyrese Haliburton told Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “It’s hard to play at our pace in a one-game series. I think we’re doing a great job of playing our way, controlling what we can. I really feel like that’s important. Coach has been stressing that the last few years. It’s not just about one game, it’s how can you wear on teams for 48 minutes every game every day. I feel like we did that with our physicality, we did that with our pace, many different ways.”
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- In-season acquisition Thomas Bryant played an underrated role in Game 5 on Tuesday, Dopirak notes. The veteran center made several key third-quarter plays that swung the momentum in the Pacers’ favor. He finished with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, along with three rebounds. “Thomas Bryant in the second half gave us some of the greatest minutes you can ask of a backup center,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He ran. He rebounded. The three in the right corner was enormous during a run where we were starting to get into their legs a little big. His enthusiasm, it just permeates our team.”
- Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tackles a number of topics in his latest mailbag, ranking the Pistons’ priorities this offseason, in order, as player development, retention of their own free agents and a strategic addition via trade or free agency.
- Center Jalen Duren is eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason and his growth this season stamps him as an integral part of the franchise’s future, Langlois writes. The Pistons’ lead executive, Trajan Langdon, indicated as much during his postseason press conference. “J.D. took a huge step,” Langdon said. “After the first 25 games of the season, he was a different player the last 50, 60 games of the season. Got off to a slow start and we’re going to push him this summer, as well, and I think he’s willing to take that up to another level.”
- Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn’t requested a trade, though he’s reportedly open to considering the idea of joining another team. The Athletic’s trio of Sam Amick, Eric Nehm and David Aldridge take a closer view of how this offseason might play out regarding the Bucks’ superstar, noting that the next move — whether to stay or go — is up to him.
Donovan Mitchell To Start Game 5; Merrill Out
With their season on the brink, the Cavaliers will have Donovan Mitchell in the lineup on Tuesday. Mitchell will suit up against the Pacers as top-seeded Cleveland tries to stave off elimination, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets.
Mitchell had been listed as questionable on Monday due to a left ankle injury. Mitchell missed the second half of the Cavaliers’ Game 4 blowout loss to the Pacers after feeling discomfort in his left ankle while going up for a warm-up shot during halftime, as we relayed on Sunday night. Mitchell underwent an MRI on Monday.
Mitchell has carried the Cavs offensively, averaging 28.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals during their first eight playoff games. Indiana leads the series, 3-1.
However, one of the Cavs’ key reserves won’t play. Sam Merrill has been declared out due to a neck strain, according to Fedor. Merrill had a 14-point outing earlier in the series. Isaac Okoro and Max Strus could see more playing time in his absence.
Pacers Notes: Haliburton, Carlisle, Technicals, Turner
Tyrese Haliburton, who didn’t speak with reporters after the Pacers‘ Game 3 loss to Cleveland on Friday, explained that it was a team decision to not make him available, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Haliburton suffered through a subpar night, finishing with four points and five assists while shooting 2-of-8 from the field. Meeting with the media after Saturday’s film session, Haliburton stated that he’s always willing to be accountable no matter how he plays.
“I don’t run away from any questions. I went through harder times than last night,” he said. “Whatever you have to ask, I’ll be there. If there’s commentary around me not talking last night, people are more than allowed to approach me and have a conversation with me about it. I can’t control everything, but I don’t run from anything. If you have questions to ask, I’m right here.”
Dopirak notes that the Cavaliers made a concerted effort to control Haliburton after dropping the first two games of the series. Max Strus drew the main defensive assignment, but everyone who defended Haliburton face-guarded him and didn’t give him much room to operate. Cleveland also unveiled a 3-2 zone with Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley at the top to contest shooters. Haliburton had four of his shots blocked on Friday, with Mobley getting two of them.
“It’s an interesting dynamic, right?” Haliburton said. “A lot of teams don’t play a 3-2 and they don’t play with a seven-footer at the top. We just have to figure out how to go at it. We walked over some stuff and we saw some stuff through the course of the game that we feel comfortable with.”
There’s more from Indiana:
- The Cavs made an early statement on Friday by scoring the first 11 points of the game and then finishing the first half on a 25-4 run, per Shakeia Taylor of The Athletic. Coach Rick Carlisle said his team has to do a better job of being ready to compete from the opening tip. “This is a very poor effort at the beginning of the game, through too many parts of the game. We all own it pretty clearly,” Carlisle said. “I didn’t have these guys ready for this, so I take responsibility for that. Ty had a rough game. I got to do more to get him involved, get him shots, get him in better positions to defend better, all those kinds of things.”
- The Pacers were whistled for five technical fouls in the loss, but Carlisle refused to blame the referees for anything that happened, Taylor adds. “This wasn’t on the officials,” he said. “This is us not playing with enough presence, posture, disposition, whatever you want to call it. We’ve got to fix it. We’ve got 48 hours to do it. Playoff series are long, lots of ups and downs, lots of new storylines every game. From the standpoint of this game, the storyline is, we got to fight harder. We didn’t fight hard enough. They did. They outfought us.”
- Myles Turner made a brief trip to the locker room after tweaking his ankle in the third quarter, but he was able to resume playing and expects to be ready for Sunday’s Game 4, Dopirak states in a separate story. “I’m fine,” Turner said. “Stuff happens. It’s the playoffs. It was a little tweak. You tape it up and you’re good to go.”
Pacers Notes: Haliburton, Celebration, Turner, Depth
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton expected to be fined for his celebration after making a game-winning three-pointer on Tuesday in Cleveland (YouTube link), but instead he received a warning from the NBA, reports Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
“I’ve been waiting for that. I’ve been waiting for that, man,” Haliburton said after Game 2, when asked about the celebration and if he expected to hear from the league. “It was just right in the moment. It was right in the moment. Yeah, man, I’ve been waiting for that. I’ll take that fine, gladly.”
As Reynold notes, Haliburton anticipated a fine because the celebration he used has resulted in several financial penalties in the past for what the league has referred to as an “obscene gesture.”
Here’s more on the Pacers, who hold a 2-0 lead on the top-seeded Cavaliers heading into Friday’s Game 3:
- Haliburton has been bothered by a sore left wrist recently, which is why he wore wore a wrap during Game 2 and at Thursday’s practice. However, he said he’ll be ready for tonight’s home game, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “I’m fine,” Haliburton said. “I’ll be fine for the game. I’m all good.”
- In an interview with Mark Medina of RG.org, Haliburton’s trainer, Drew Hanlen, pushed back on the idea that his client is overrated — the 25-year-old point guard was voted the NBA’s most overrated player by an anonymous poll of 90 players last month. “We clearly know that Tyrese is not overrated,” Hanlen said. “He’s the best passer and play-maker in the NBA. He’s one of the best guards in the NBA. And he impacts winning at a high level. There is proof of that. He led his team to the Eastern Conference Finals last year. This year, they already have won a series and they’re up 2-0. One of the big things that we talk about with all my athletes is, ‘It doesn’t really matter what is said. It matters what is done.’ The proof is in the results. We always talk about results being the only thing that matters. He’s got a ton of great results. We don’t really care about an anonymous poll where no one has laid their opinions out on the line.”
- Center Myles Turner is in his 10th season with Indiana and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. In an interesting article for the Players’ Tribune, Turner wrote about his NBA journey, including being involved in trade rumors for several years, and his relationships with head coach Rick Carlisle and Haliburton, among other topics.
- While most NBA teams shorten their rotations in the playoffs, the opposite has been true of the Pacers, who have extended their rotation to 11 players instead of their typical 10, Dopirak writes for The Indianapolis Star. Indiana’s depth and up-tempo playing style has worn down its opponents late in games, leading to a couple of dramatic comebacks. “It’s playing to exhaustion,” backup guard T.J. McConnell said. “That tires other guys out. Our depth, if all of us are able to do that, it’s hard to play against us for 48 minutes. We press all year to get ready for a series like this in the playoffs. We just gotta continue to play extremely hard on both ends of the floor.”
Central Notes: Haliburton, Nembhard, Cavs, Pistons, Bulls
One week after ending the Bucks’ season with a series-winning shot in the final seconds of Game 5, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton played the hero again on Tuesday vs. Cleveland. Haliburton’s three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left on the clock completed an improbable comeback for the Pacers, who were down by seven points with 50 seconds to play and now have a 2-0 series lead as they head back home.
“He enjoys the moments,” teammate Myles Turner said, per Jamal Collier of ESPN. “He wants the ball in his hands. There’s a lot of guys I’ve seen, even guys I’ve played with, that doesn’t necessarily want to take that shot or doesn’t necessarily want to be in the mix right there, but he relishes in those moments. It’s just a testament as to his work ethic, his mental toughness, his mentality. Quite frankly — that boy cold, man.”
As Jared Weiss of The Athletic writes, Haliburton has always taken pride in his mental toughness and has made a habit of reading his mentions on social media when he’s not playing well, using criticism from online trolls as fuel to start playing better. However, the Pacers star recently admitted that he hit a low point last fall when he was dwelling on a slow start to the 2024/25 season that included a scoreless outing vs. New York.
“I (was) struggling to look at myself in the mirror. I’m struggling to show up to work and get to the gym. I’m trying to avoid coming to work,” said Haliburton, adding that he stopped seeking out the online criticism that typically motivated him. “… I didn’t want to tackle things head-on. I didn’t want to look at myself in the mirror. I was just trying to almost run from the spotlight. I’ve always been a guy who pushed into that, and I love being in that, so it was a weird feeling. I’ve never felt that insecurity before, and that was a reality check for me.”
According to Haliburton, who told Weiss he has gone to therapy for the last couple years, a candid conversation with trainer Drew Hanlen helped get him back on the right track and he started feeling more like himself after putting up 35 points and 14 assists in a revenge game vs. the Knicks a few weeks into the season.
Haliburton added that good conversations and strong relationships with fellow NBA stars like Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum have helped keep him in the right headspace and ensured he was unfazed when he was voted the NBA’s most overrated player last month in a player poll conducted by The Athletic.
“At some point, worrying about what my peers think only holds so much weight. I think my peers (whom) I really respect, that changes things,” Haliburton said. “For that poll, there’s no names to faces, it’s all anonymous. Having relationships with guys like Jayson and Joel, who are guys that I know at the top of the game, them being honest with me, that’s important. I respect their opinions more than anybody.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- While Haliburton has been the engine driving the Pacers‘ playoff success so far, his backcourt partner Andrew Nembhard has been showing why he shouldn’t be overlooked, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (subscription required) and Joe Vardon of The Athletic. A strong perimeter defender, Nembhard has been giving Indiana a major offensive boost as well, scoring 23 points in Game 1 vs. Cleveland and handing out 13 assists in Game 2. The team is a +31 in his 73 minutes for the series so far.
- Already missing three key players (Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and De’Andre Hunter) due to injuries on Tuesday, the Cavaliers were also getting a “banged-up” version of star guard Donovan Mitchell, who is playing through a calf strain, as Vardon writes for The Athletic. Mitchell nearly led Cleveland to a victory anyway, with 48 points and nine assists in 36 minutes, but he and the Cavs’ other regulars ran out of gas and blew a late lead in the game’s final moments. “I loved how we competed,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said after the loss, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). “We played our basketball, our identity. I thought we outplayed them. That’s the shame of this game. With fatigue comes decision-making. We had some poor decision-making plays at the rim, turnovers, a couple bad decisions. That was part of the collapse.”
- Discussing the draft, Pistons general manager Trajan Langdon suggested the pool of available talent isn’t as deep as it might otherwise be due to the NIL benefits that have made college prospects more inclined to stay in school. Armed with only the No. 37 overall pick this year, Langdon suggested the team will consider trading up if there’s “a player we really like” and the cost isn’t prohibitive (Twitter links via Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press).
- Arguing that it’s time for the Bulls to begin “hunting for big trades,” Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune (subscription required) evaluates whether or not the team could realistically make a play for Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo if he becomes available. Poe concludes that Chicago is a long shot for Antetokounmpo, but says the team could and should be ready to explore pursuing other stars who reach the trade block.
Mobley, Garland, Hunter Ruled Out For Game 2
Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and De’Andre Hunter have all been ruled out for Game 2 of the Cavaliers’ second-round series against the Pacers, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets.
It’s a huge dilemma for the top seed in the Eastern Conference as they try to avoid going 0-2 in the series on Tuesday.
Mobley sustained a sprained left ankle in Game 1. Garland will miss his fourth straight game due to a sprained big toe on his left foot that has nagged him since the end of the regular season. Hunter suffered a dislocated right thumb in the series opener.
During his pregame press conference, coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t confirm that the trio was out, but stated that he and his staff made preparations for all scenarios.
“We’ve got to be ready for plan A, B, and C,” Atkinson said. “We’ve got a great group. We’ve got great leadership. We’ve always responded. Great maturity, great professionalism, and this is part of what we figure things out as a group. These experiences make you better, make you stronger as a group and we obviously have to respond on the floor, but liked our approach leading up.”
Ty Jerome, Sam Merrill, Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade are some of the players who will have to step up with a pair of Cavs starters and a top reserve unavailable.
Central Notes: Bulls, Garland, Haliburton, Pistons
After a third straight play-in appearance that fell short of a playoff berth, the Bulls face an interesting offseason, as NBA insider Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) previews.
Chicago guard Josh Giddey submitted an encouraging performance during his inaugural season with Chicago, just in time for him to hit restricted free agency this summer. Gozlan notes that a club with cap space, like Brooklyn, could potentially give Giddey an offer sheet, but the Bulls will have the rights to match it. Gozlan projects that Giddey’s play could fetch him a yearly salary in the range of $20-$30MM.
Standout guard Coby White, who will be eligible for a contract extension next season, could earn a significant annual raise if he forgos an extension and instead waits until he reaches unrestricted free agency in 2026.
As Gozlan writes, veterans Nikola Vucevic, Kevin Huerter, Ayo Dosunmu, and Zach Collins are all on expiring deals, and many of those players could be moved in offseason trades rather than extended.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Cavaliers All-Star guard Darius Garland is expected to be a game-time decision for the first contest of Cleveland’s second round playoff series against Indiana, reports Joe Reedy of The Associated Press. Garland sat out the final two contests of the Cavaliers’ four-game sweep of Miami with a sprained left big toe. “We’re just in this kind of area where you just got to kind of see day-by-day and see how it feels tomorrow morning,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said on Saturday.
- Cavaliers players are doing what they can to prepare for two-time Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “He always makes the right play and doesn’t really stat hunt,” sixth man Ty Jerome said. “He’s a winner. He takes and makes big shots. He leads that team. He’s a real definition of a point guard.” Six-time All-Star Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, meanwhile, respects Haliburton’s influence on his team’s offense. “He’s the head of the snake,” Mitchell said. “There’s a lot of respect for him and what he brings over there. At the end of the day, if people want to say that, they want to say that, but, you know, we don’t look at it that way. We understand how important he is to that group. He’s a threat, and we’ve got to make sure we try to find ways to neutralize him.”
- The Pistons submitted an impressive bounce-back season in 2024/25 that included their first playoff berth since 2019, writes Omari Sankofa II Detroit Free Press (subscriber link). Now, the club will see four veterans head to unrestricted free agency and also faces extension decisions on young former lottery picks Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, who will be extension-eligible. Sankofa unpacks the potential fates of these contributors and addresses other burning offseason questions facing Detroit.
Central Notes: Schröder, Garland, Haliburton
Well-traveled Pistons point guard Dennis Schröder thrived in his role as a pesky reserve throughout Detroit’s playoff series against New York this spring, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post.
Following the Pistons’ elimination in a hard-fought first round playoff series on Thursday, Schröder is on track to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. After inking a two-year, $25.4MM deal with Toronto in 2023, he was moved to Brooklyn, Golden State and finally Detroit during the course of the contract.
Although Schröder has expressed appreciation for his experiences with those other clubs, he has especially relished his Pistons tenure.
“I think Detroit is one of the best situations I’ve been in,” Schröder said. “I don’t have to change my style of play, I can be myself. I got a coach who is going at the refs, who is not taking no crap. I’m like that. That’s the reason I’m in the league for 12 years. I’m 6-foot-1, I’ve got to find my way somehow. I love that I don’t have to change myself and I can just be who I am. My teammates embrace me. I just try to help every game.”
Across six playoff games for Detroit, the 31-year-old averaged 12.5 points per night with a shooting line of .491/.476/.813. He also registered averages of 3.7 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 27.4 minutes per game.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- All-Star Cavaliers guard Darius Garland is considered “day-to-day” ahead of Cleveland’s second round clash against Indiana as he deals with a toe injury, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link). “I’m not going to make a judgment either way,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said of Garland’s availability. “There’s some concern there. I could see it go either way. I think it’s something he’s going to have to deal with probably the rest of the playoffs.”
- Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton‘s father, John Haliburton, got into an altercation with Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo following Indiana’s 119-118 Game 5 overtime contest and series victory. In the wake of that incident, Shams Charania of ESPN reports that the elder Haliburton will stay away from all Pacers games for the foreseeable future. John Haliburton, who apologized to Antetokounmpo after the fact, tried to explain to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (subscriber link) what happened. “Watch the real video and you’ll see that it wasn’t what they thought it was,” John Haliburton said. “Yeah, you saw me standing there looking at Giannis; yeah, you did. But I wasn’t trying to intimidate him. I don’t intimidate nobody, I’m humble. I don’t believe in that, it was just one of those moments.”
- In case you missed it, Antetokounmpo faces an uncertain future following a third straight first round playoff exit and the Game 4 Achilles tear of co-star Damian Lillard.