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The resurgent Indiana Pacers, winners of ten of their last 12 games, have a couple of major decisions to make, especially as the NBA trade deadline approaches. The NBA trade deadline for the Pacers will once again involve Myles Turner, but not in the way you might think. With Myles Turner set to hit unrestricted free agency in the offseason, the Pacers will obviously look to re-sign him, and that could mean freeing up potential cap space by trading of some their wing depth, as per longtime NBA insider Marc Stein.
Stein reports that the Pacers could opt to trade someone like Bennedict Mathurin either by the NBA trade deadline, or closer to the NBA Draft, in order to make it easier to re-sign Myles Turner in NBA free agency.
There's of course the possibility that re-signing Turner could prove too costly, in which case, it's no surprise that his name has popped up once again in trade rumors. The Pacers have reportedly fielded calls from interested teams about Turner's potential availability this deadline, as per ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel. Siegel reports that the Pacers aren't actively looking to trade Turner, and don't wish to, but that they haven't exactly dissuaded interested teams.
One team that has popped up in terms of trade interest in Turner is the Los Angeles Lakers, as per ClutchPoints' Lakers insider Anthony Irwin. Irwin reports that the Lakers have turned their attention towards Turner as the deadline approaches, and with the asking price for either Jonas Valanciunas and Nikola Vucevic being too high for their liking.
Myles Turner's impact with Pacers
One of the biggest reasons why the Pacers should not trade Myles Turner is because they don't have much center depth in the wake of the season-ending injuries to both Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman. If the Pacers aren't getting a starting caliber center in a deal, it isn't really worth it for them.
With Turner forming a sold frontcourt duo alongside Thomas Bryant, the Pacers have re-ignited their season and jumped up in the Eastern Conference standings. They've gone 10-2 in the month of January and currently sit in fifth place in the East standings at 25-20. It's a solid turnaround for a team that got off to a disappointing start to the 2024-25 season.
Turner has been among the best centers in the league this season, and will surely be one of the top free agents on the market this offseason.
He's appeared in 43 games this season, at a little over 31 minutes per game. He's averaging 15.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.9 blocked shots with splits of 48 percent shooting from the field, 40 percent shooting from the three-point line and 75.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line.