The Indiana Pacers and center Myles Turner opened up contract extension talks months before the NBA trade deadline, according to a Friday report from the Athletic Senior NBA insider Shams Charania.

Turner is averaging career highs in points per game with 16.7, total rebounds per game with 7.8 and 3-point percentage with 41.7%. He scored a near-career high 37 points in a 129-122 win over the New Orleans Pelicans in early November, leading all scorers in Gainbridge Fieldhouse while grabbing 12 rebounds and blocking three shots against the now-third-best team in the Western Conference.

Turner last signed a four-year, 80 million extension with the Pacers in 2018. The deal included a total of $10 million in incentives, including four $2 million bonuses should the 6-foot-11-inch center from Texas earn a spot on the All-NBA Defensive team, according to Spotrac.

Rumors spread that the Pacers were not willing to part with Turner before the NBA trade deadline because of their early success. The team jumped out to 12-8 with wins over the Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors before falling back to an even 16-16.

“The Utah Jazz may be more of a buyer than a seller after their impressive start to the season,” Bleacher Report NBA analyst Eric Pincus said in a mid-December report. “Similarly, the Indiana Pacers are winning too much to part with Myles Turner, who may re-sign with the team after multiple trade deadlines on the block.”

Despite being linked to trades for the Lakers and the Clippers, the 26-year-old center said he would stay focused on winning with his current franchise in a late-November article from the Athletic.

“Nothing changes,” Turner told The Athletic. “Just go out there and focus on getting wins for this team. That’s just where my focus lies.

“You can’t pay attention to outside noise… it doesn’t change anything. All I can do is go out there and play my game.”