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With Milwaukee Bucks star Myles Turner saying goodbye to the Indiana Pacers after signing a sizable deal with his new team, it was no doubt a shocking move for the basketball world since the big man has been with the team for 10 seasons.
As fans look forward to the eventual return to the Pacers' home ground for Turner, the team has spoken about losing him and the replacements they have on the roster.
After Turner signed with Milwaukee, Indiana has looked in a few directions to fill the void, whether it be re-signing James Wiseman, trading for Jay Huff, or exercising Tony Bradley's team option.
In the latest piece by Kevin Smith of Spotrac, he spoke with a front office executive for the team and spoke how “tough” it was to lose Turner and how the other pieces in effect have helped.
“It’s tough. Myles was so important to everything we’ve been over the last decade. But we have to be smart, both right now and in the future,” a team front office executive said. “We feel like we used our assets well to get center options in the building that can help us continue to be a really good team.”
Pacers speak on the replacements for Myles Turner
The Pacers also signed a center to a $21 million contract in the form of Isaiah Jackson, who the team has reported to be excited about his development with him being 23 years old. A first-round draft pick from 2021, he was mentioned along with Wiseman as pieces the team is “thrilled” to have as said by an Indiana coach that spoke to Smith.
“We’re thrilled to bring back Isaiah (Jackson) and James (Wiseman),” the coach said. “I mean, who the heck has two big guys tear Achilles’ in the span of a week? That was crazy,” a Pacers coach said. “Those guys were poised to have good years for us last year.
“Now, they’re set up to do the same this year. And adding Jay Huff was big-time. He’s an underrated floor spacer and rim protector. No one can replace Myles, but Jay is going to be a lot better than a lot of people realize.”
Still, the team is also dealing with the frustrating Achilles injury to their star player in Tyrese Haliburton, suffered during Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Haliburton likely misses a majority of the season, an outcome that is being prepared for, as said by a Pacers scout.
“Yeah, we’ll see how that goes, unfortunately. Wish it wasn’t the case, but it is. That’s life in the NBA,” the scout said. “But we have really, really good guards. We think we have the best guard group in the entire NBA.
“Tyrese is the best point guard in the NBA, but Andrew (Nembhard), T.J. (McConnell), Benn (Bennedict Mathurin), and Kam (Jones) are pretty good. They’ll make it work.”
Indiana looks to further improve after making it to the NBA Finals despite the Turner loss and Haliburton's injury.
