Indiana Pacers: Myles Turner agrees to a two-year contract extension
Indiana Pacers: Myles Turner agrees to a two-year contract extension
Myles Turner just got paid. He is in Indiana to stay on a team friendly deal.
After many months of speculation about where Myles Turner would play basketball after the 2022-23 season, the answer would be simple. He has re-signed with the Indiana Pacers for at least two more seasons.
This may surprise Pacers fans who tuned out after the conclusion of the 2021-22 season. The Pacers’ record was abysmal, they had a young team, and it looked like a rebuild was in the works.
That all changed when two things happened: Tyrese Haliburton ascended to an All-Star level, and Myles Turner played the best basketball of his career. This placed them in a position to win, as they were top five in the Eastern Conference at one point this season.
That was enough for fans in tune to see Turner was a key contributor to that success and that Indiana could not lose him for anything. Myes Turner was set to become an unrestricted free agent and could walk away from Indaina without the Pacers getting anything in return. Turner himself would even explain to teams via the Woj Pod why they should trade for him earlier this season.
Could you blame Myles? From constant trade rumors to playing out of position for years — he has been a selfless leader for this franchise. Signs were present earlier this season that a deal could take place when Turner stitched his agency to the same one that manages Tyrese Haliburton, CAA.
The elements of the deal as reported by Shams Charania:
“Myles Turner and the Pacers reached an agreement to keep Turner under contract through the 2024-25 season, salaries as follows, per sources: - $35 million this season - $20.9M in 2023-24 - $19.9M in 2024-25 Total: 2 additional years, $58M”.
Indiana frontloaded the deal using their cap space, giving Turner $17.1M on top of his $18M salary from his prior contract. This will total the $35M which will be given this season. Then next season, he will receive less due to the renegotiation, which allows Indiana cap to play with to build this new roster. An awesome deal for both parties. Now, Indiana can focus on building a team with Turner in the blueprints and not worry about having to trade him before Feb. 9th.
I do not expect a Myles Turner trade to take place at this point, barring some overwhelming offer, but the market doesn’t seem to trend that way. I think Turner is a piece to build on in part of fit with Haliburton — to me, he’s here to stay.
Tyrese Haliburton is thrilled with the news:
Myles Turner is averaging 17.5 points (career high), 7.9 rebounds (career high), 2.4 blocks, and shooting 39.1% (career high) from behind the arc.
The Pacers rewarded Turner for a career season and in turn, get Myles under contract to help build a new core. He has spent eight seasons with the Pacers and has a chance to spend a decade of his career playing in Indiana. The team drafted him with the 11th overall pick in 2015, and he is still just 26 years old.
This move is fantastic and incredibly beneficial to both parties. The most exciting part of this new deal will be seeing the on-court chemistry between him and Tyrese Haliburton going forward.