The Indiana Pacers are in a holding pattern as they await the early results of head coach Rick Carlisle steering the ship — again. Indiana has a roster of highly productive and proven players, but has continually come up short in the playoffs and been dealt a tough hand with regard to injuries and health.
At the moment, the Pacers are 3-6. If Indiana isn't a firm playoff team at the NBA trade deadline, they could easily opt to sell, and Turner would be a prime trade candidate. He's been rumored to be available for the better part of the last two years as opposing teams waited for the Pacers to break up the Sabonis-Turner pairing up front.
Turner is a skilled big man with a compelling skill set, as he's an elite shot-blocker who sticks jump shots from the perimeter. For his career, Turner is averaging 12.8 points and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 35.4 percent from beyond the arc.
With two seasons remaining on a four-year, $80 million deal, the Pacers should be able to get considerable value for their homegrown center. Here are three ideal midseason trade destinations for Myles Turner.
Potential Myles Turner trade destinations
- Spurs receive: Myles Turner
- Pacers receive: Thaddeus Young, Tre Jones, Spurs' 2022 first-round draft pick and Spurs' 2024 second-round draft pick
The Spurs have a lot of young depth, which gives them the flexibility to swing a trade or two. Acquiring Turner would be an affordable way for them to balance out their roster while acquiring their presumed center of the future.
The likes of Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Lonnie Walker and Josh Primo provide the Spurs with scattered forms of perimeter and wing scoring. What the Spurs don't have is an inside force who scores in multiple ways. Turner would be precisely that for their offense. He'd stretch the floor for their ball-handlers to operate and score in isolation.
Given his athleticism, Turner can pump-fake a perimeter jump shot and get an easy bucket off the dribble or kick it out to an open shooter when one or two defenders come down to foul him. Still just 25, Turner fits the Spurs' timeline, as he'd give them a young, two-way big man who complements and advances their foundation.
As for the trade details, Jones has been unable to carve out a role in head coach Gregg Popovich's rotation, and the bevy of youth present makes their upcoming first-rounder expendable. What could halt Turner from landing in San Antonio, however, is the coaching staff feeling that Jakob Poeltl is their long-term center and them not wanting to platoon centers from a minutes standpoint.
- Mavericks receive: Myles Turner
- Pacers receive: Dwight Powell, Dorian Finney-Smith, Josh Green and Mavericks' 2025 first-round draft pick
The Mavericks have a lot of big men, but their roster is missing some oomph. While he'd keep that interior surplus intact, Myles Turner would be a fun fit in head coach Jason Kidd's offense.
For starters, Kristaps Porzingis, who is supposed to be a premier scorer and shooter, is off to an ominous start, as the Mavericks are winning with him on the sidelines and a bit stagnant with him on the floor. Dallas needs all the offense it can get, and Turner would somewhat alleviate Porzingis' volatile standing in their offense. He gives them another player to benefit from the attention that Luka Doncic attracts.
Meanwhile, Turner's defensive prowess would improve them on that end of the floor, as he'd be their defensive anchor and someone who could be on the floor at the end of games to keep big men like Nikola Jokic and Deandre Ayton at bay. From Indiana's perspective, they get a flier on Green while seeing how a versatile forward like Finney-Smith plays next to Sabonis, who can start at center.
The factor that may prevent this trade from taking place is the front office preferring to break up some of their continuity for more of a polished scorer, rather than an upgrade in the paint.
- Thunder receive: Myles Turner
- Pacers receive: Isaiah Roby, Theo Maledon and Phoenix Suns' 2022 first-round draft pick
At some point, the Thunder have to turn their trade assets into proven players they can build around. Myles Turner presents a low-cost way for them to cash in on their stash.
Turner would give head coach Mark Daigneault a speedy starting five. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the lead scorer. Josh Giddey starts the fastbreak and finds his teammates for easy buckets. Luguentz Dort provides wing defense and Darius Bazley continues to be an athletic frontcourt player. Turner stretches the floor. Furthermore, rebuilding NBA teams tend to lack a bit defensively. Turner becomes their defensive backbone and someone the youth can lean on.
The University of Texas product's game makes him a fit on essentially every NBA team, which would allow the Thunder to make blockbuster trades for stars to put in-between Gilgeous-Alexander and Turner. As for the trade package, Roby has a low ceiling with the Thunder given Bazley's presence, as does Maledon with Gilgeous-Alexander and Giddey entrenched as franchise building blocks. The extra first-rounder is gravy for the Pacers, rounding out a plausible haul for Turner that could add three rotation players to the mix for the 2022-23 season.
Oklahoma City improves in the short term by acquiring Turner while adding long-term flexibility and keeping their options open on the trade market.
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