1 top NBA trade target appears to be off the market
Jun 2, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver talks to media before game one of the 2022 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Call asking about one popular NBA trade candidate this offseason, and you may now be getting hung up on.
Veteran basketball reporter Marc Stein said this week on his podcast that Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner is expected to remain with the team through the summer. Stein does add however that interested teams still have not gotten discouraged in their respective pursuits of Turner.
It seems to make all the sense in the world for the Pacers to trade Turner before the 2022-23 season begins. Turner is in the prime of his career at 26 years old and is on an expiring contract as well. Having gone 25-57 this year, Indiana may be entering a full teardown, and Turner does not sound happy about the situation either.
The ex-lottery pick Turner is a human eraser, leading the NBA in blocked shots in two of the last four years. He also splashes the three at a nifty 34.9 percent for his career. While that set of attributes for a center gives Turner plenty of value (one top contender was reportedly among those interested), it sounds like the Pacers plan to keep him instead, perhaps to see how well he works with the recently-acquired Tyrese Haliburton over a full season.
H/T Bleacher Report
