Pacers center Myles Turner guards Nuggest guard Jamal Murray in the fourth quarter of their game at Ball Arena in Denver, Monday, March 15, 2001. (Photo: Isaiah J. Downing/USA TODAY Sports)
With the trade deadline nine days away, Myles Turner’s name will inevitably come up when it comes to teams who have interest in him.
There are more than a few.
The New York Knicks, L.A. Lakers, L.A. Clippers, Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans are among those who have explored whether the Pacers are willing to part with the league’s leading shot-blocker, league sources tell IndyStar.
And that’s to be expected. The Pacers were open to trading him before the 2020-21 season began, when they put Turner in a deal to get Gordon Hayward from the Boston Celtics with a sign-and-trade.
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It stalled. Hayward ended up with the Hornets instead. IndyStar has reported for the better part of a year of the Hornets’ affinity for Turner. When the Pacers chose Turner 11th in the 2015 draft, the Hornets took Frank Kaminsky two spots ahead of him.
Turner is in the second year of a four-year deal that pays him $17.5 million base salary each season. Kaminsky is with his third NBA team in Phoenix, earning $1.8 million.
Will the Pacers make a move at trade deadline?
The Pacers just got Caris LeVert healthy enough to play, but how long can they wait to pull it all together under first-year coach Nate Bjorkgren? Do they have to make a move by the deadline?
A few weeks ago that answer was no. Not unless there was a slam-dunk move they couldn’t turn down.
That was before they lost 7 of 9 after Monday’s 121-106 loss at the Denver Nuggets, dropping 4 games below .500.
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If there’s a move to be made, league sources tell IndyStar, the Pacers aren’t shopping Turner. Understand, however, the trade market can change on a dime. When they shipped Victor Oladipo to the Houston Rockets two months ago for LeVert, that kind of deal wasn’t there before the season tipped.
Had it it been, Oladipo would’ve been traded before the Dec. 23 opener. They Pacers knew they weren’t going to offer him a max in free agency this offseason and Oladipo had no interest in signing an extension with them or anyone else. The domino effect of James Harden being traded from Houston (a salary-shedding team looking to rebuild) to Brooklyn (a team making a championship run) made LeVert and his multi-year deal an option in less than 24 hours.
That’s how quickly the tide can shift.
Pacers suffer against Nuggets wtih Turner on the bench
Turner may have had just 8 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks in Denver, but when he goes to the bench the Pacers just aren’t the same team defensively.
He was physical against Nikola Jokic. He blocked Jokic’s dunk at the rim. He bodied him in the mid-post, stood him up and blocked his shot attempt.
It sounds absurd to suggest Turner made that much of a difference with Jokic’s game-highs of 32 points and 14 rebounds. But team defense isn’t just about 1 vs. 1 matchups. It’s about rotating and helping, tagging, recovering, digging, stunting, closing out, rear pursuits and communicating.
When Turner wasn’t on the floor, the Pacers were a different team defensively:
- Trailing 57-40 with Turner sitting in the 2nd quarter, the Pacers trimmed the deficit to 9 by halftime when he returned.
- Turner played the entire third quarter, and the Pacers led 91-87.
- Turner sat to start the fourth, and the cushion became a 104-93 deficit before he could come back with 6:15 left.
There were no more runs in the Pacers. And there’s no path to executing Bjorkgren’s aggressive defensive scheme without Turner or a Turner-like defensive presence at the rim.
Goga Bitadze played well in spot duty in the first half vs. Jokic, too, but he’s not ready to be a starter. Asking Domantas Sabonis to fulfill that role is unrealistic.
A year or two ago, Turner might’ve looked expendable. Not today.
Shipping him away isn’t the answer. Finding a Thad Young-level backup 4 to pair with him is.