The Indiana Pacers are entering the trade deadline in quite an interesting spot, as they had been a very solid team early on in the season, but have fallen apart while Tyrese Haliburton has found himself on the sidelines injured. Things have become even more confusing for them now that they have signed one of their top trade candidates in Myles Turner to a two-year, $60 million extension.
Turner had been involved in trade rumors all season long, but this extension will largely cause those rumors to die down. But with Turner's new deal, Indiana has cleared up quite a bit of cap space, and it seems like they could still be in position to make some moves before the deadline. And oddly enough, Turner's trade market actually could be set to become quite hot as a result of this team-friendly extension with the Pacers.
“Indiana, who has had interest in trading for (John) Collins, has also expressed interest in trading for (Jarred) Vanderbilt…Turner remains trade-eligible despite renegotiating and extending his contract. This is because the extension doesn’t extend his current contract beyond three years (including this one), and he didn’t receive raises larger than five percent. While a trade seems unlikely after coming to terms, this deal could significantly increase his trade value ahead of the deadline. More buyers could emerge with Turner no longer set to become a free agent and extended at a very reasonable rate.” – Michael Scotto, HoopsHype
So even with this extension, it seems like everything is still on the table for the Pacers as the trade deadline approaches. While it may have seemed like this extension for Turner could have taken them out of the game at the deadline, it's looking like the Pacers could still be big players, making them a very interesting team to watch over the next week or so.
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