The NBA season is just over a week old, and Myles Turner made his Milwaukee Bucks debut. He's appreciated his first few games with his new team. But that has not changed how Turner feels about his contract talks with the Indiana Pacers, and the circumstances that caused him to leave for the Bucks. Turner spoke on the Thanalysis Podcast about being salty about how everything went down.
“Pascal was in a contract year. T.J. McConnell was in a contract year. Aaron Nesmith was in a contract year. I could go down the list, but you go through that – and we had a great run,” Turner stated on the podcast.
Turner was already one of the best Pacers in franchise history, and many expected him to remain with the team. Likewise, he acknowledged that everyone around the organization kept telling him that the team would take care of everyone because the Pacers kept winning. The circumstances and expectations rose when the Pacers went to the NBA Finals.
“All everybody told me was ‘Myles, just keep your head down. Keep your head down and work. You're going to get taken care of.' Then, I hear the rumors: ‘Indiana's going into the luxury tax for the first time ever,'” Turner went on.
Turner also recalled what happened after Tyrese Haliburton sustained the injury that will keep him out for the entire 2025-26 NBA season. He believed the front office had changed their minds about contending, and by virtue, extending him with the contract he wanted. The contract talks stalled, and Turner and the Pacers were much farther apart than they believed. Ultimately, Turner would sign with the Bucks, the Pacers' rivals, beginning a new era and a chance to play his former team four times a year.
Turner will return to Indiana on Monday, November 3, as the Bucks battle the currently winless Pacers. So far, he is off to a slower start than anticipated, averaging 8.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 31.6 percent from the field. But the game against his former team might inspire Turner to take his game to the next level.
