Myles Turner will leave the Indiana Pacers in free agency
The rumor: With Pascal Siakam on the books, the Indiana Pacers may not have a huge priority to re-sign Myles Turner. There were rumors that the Pacers were open to listening to trade offers for Turner ahead of the trade deadline.
Over the course of the second half of the season, the Indiana Pacers have looked like a completely different team. After a relatively slow start to the year, the Pacers have looked more like an Eastern Conference threat over the last few months. How this season plays out will likely play a large role in how the team is going to operate heading into the offseason. At the forefront of their offseason questions is the impending future of Myles Turner, who is slated to hit free agency.
In the final year of his contract, Turner is averaging 15 points and seven rebounds on efficient shooting numbers. Having taken a step back in his overall production this year, there could be some hesitance in the idea of paying him upwards of $30 million-plus per year. As arguably one of the bigger names heading into this year's free agency class, there's reason to believe that Turner is going to have a strong market. That could be a nightmarish scenario for Indiana, especially considering they will need to make a contract extension decision on Bennedict Mathurin this offseason too.
Leading up to the trade deadline, there were whispers that the Pacers were open to listening to trade offers for Turner. As we know now, nothing came to full fruition on that front, but as he prepares for free agency, it's certainly one thing to keep a close eye on. At this point, I'd assume there's at least a non-zero chance that Turner will end up leaving Indiana during the offseason.
If the Pacers are looking to make an addition elsewhere on the roster, it could make sense to allow Turner to walk in free agency. Or, at the very least, the Pacers could work with him to secure a sign-and-trade that offers an upside for both sides. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure how prudent it would be for the Pacers to path Siakam and Turner a combined $70-plus million heading into the future. Because of that, I do believe there's at least some truth to this "whisper."