Indianapolis — Indiana Pacers Center Miles Turner I was tired of the semi-annual trade rumors.
Every February and every summer in recent years, the 6-foot-11 former Texas star has heard or seen his name linked to a new contract. He explained that it was his preference to stay on the team that drafted him and help them chase the championship.
Now he could have three more chances to make his dream come true. On Monday, after a month of negotiations, Turner signed a two-year contract extension until the end of his 2024-25 season.
“There’s definitely some comfort in knowing that you have some safety and you can just play the game,” he said following the press conference. But I wanted to be here in Indy.”
A two-year extension, plus a renegotiation of his contract for the rest of the season, would give Turner another $60 million, making the salary cap friendly to the Pacers.
Indiana has been below the bottom of the salary cap this season, but it needed to pay more anyway.The next two years and all five of this year’s starters are locked into contracts next season. The Pacers now have even more flexibility due to the February 9th trading deadline and the offseason.
One of the big factors in Turner’s decision to sign now, rather than test the free-agent market this summer, is that he’s back in position after advancing the All-Stars in a swap last February. was. Domantas Sabonis To Sacramento for point guard Tyrese Halliburton.
The trade, combined with the presence of Halliburton, helped the 26-year-old Turner have the best season of his eight-year career. He averaged 17.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks, his 54.4% shooting percentage from the field and his 39.3% 3-point shooting percentage. Plus, he’s still one of his top rim protectors in the NBA.
Manager Rick Carlyle said, “As a staff, I really hoped that this day would come. “In the year and a half since he returned to his original position, No. 5, we have seen amazing things. I came.”
The Los Angeles Lakers were the latest focus of speculation that began last summer, and rumors were still ongoing. helped fuel the debate when asked to evaluate deals that might include
“If I were the Lakers, I would look at this very seriously where you are,” he said.
That possibility now looks dead, even though Turner recognizes there are no guarantees in the NBA.
Pacers sign with Phoenix Suns in July Deandre Ayton Just seeing the Suns match the offer immediately made it the richest offer sheet in league history, $133 million over four years.
Pritchard said the move led to “100 conversations” with Turner’s agent, Austin Brown. Pritchard declined to provide details about those discussions.
Things seem to have changed since then.
Pritchard believes the evolving bond between Turner and Halliburton is more than enough for a franchise with all five starters under contract through next season and most of the major rotation players locked out until 2024-25. We believe we can create a strong foundation.
More confident about his future, Pritchard thinks Turner will continue to thrive.
“It’s a shame because if a team calls about a player and somehow gets an offer, there could be trade rumors,” Pritchard said. “It hurts players. That’s for sure. Last week two players came up and asked, ‘Am I being traded?’
But after entering the Gainbridge Fieldhouse lobby filled with teammates, coaches, Pacers employees, a speaker set blaring with calls from Turner’s career, and a large video board posting a slideshow of Turner’s favorite moments, in Indiana. It looked like the longest tenured player was right. A homeback who started it all as the 11th overall draft pick.
“I think it was easy when I was offered a full-time position at 5. It was definitely what I was looking for,” Turner said. You can see the extended minutes, so that was one of the main things I was looking for.
