Indiana Pacers forward/center Myles Turner is fresh off inking a four-year, $72 million extension (up to $80 million with incentives) with the team that drafted him, a sigh of relief after three seasons of work.
Turner's numbers were down after an injury-riddled season, averaging less points, rebounds, blocks and steals, while also shooting a lower field goal percentage. His adjustment to splitting time with Domantas Sabonis has also become an obstacle to his minutes, something head coach Nate McMillan has looked to fix by playing them separately.
The contract extension comes at a time when Turner needed a vote of faith from the organization, allowing him to zone-in to the goal at hand — his progress as a player and the team's ambitions in the East.
“I’m just happy that I’ll be able to focus solely on basketball and not have to worry about going through a contract year and all that,” the Pacers big told Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. “I’m glad to get that process out of the way and I get to continue being with a team that genuinely cares for me, a team that I really care for as well. I’m very excited about the deal. And I’m very excited about where I’m at, here in Indiana, because I can’t see myself anywhere else.”
Turner has made massive changes on his body, going from 14 percent body fat to only 7 percent, a dietary change that should only reflect as progress, allowing for more stamina and longer stretches on the floor.
5 weeks down, still gotta lot of work to do! #Summer18 pic.twitter.com/CWFM5gPue0
— Myles Turner (@Original_Turner) June 18, 2018
“It was a lot of dedication, and it definitely took a team of people to make that happen. But, more than anything, it was a lot of work,” said Turner. “I did this because there was a point last season when I just felt dead out there on the court – I felt so drained and I wasn’t myself. I knew a lot of that was due to my eating habits and me not taking care of my body as well as I should’ve been.
I think the biggest [motivator] was just me wanting the best for myself, and my team obviously wanted what’s best for me too. Once we got to the point where we started putting together a plan and we knew I had to make some big changes, we realized it was something that had to be done over the offseason. Then, we just executed the plan.”
Teammate Victor Oladipo recently made waves as the Most Improved Player last season and if Turner can put together a big year, the Pacers could quickly sneak into the conversation for one of the contenders in the East after finishing with a fifth seed last season despite losing Paul George in the offseason.
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