Pacers News: Myles Turner Lands with West Contender in Proposed Trade

Indiana's 3-and-D starting center could help take this club over the top.

Nov 20, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) dunks the ball as Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) defends during the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner is off to another solid start with the only pro team he's ever known. The 3-and-D big man just returned from a calf injury against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.

Across 13 healthy contests this year, the 6-foot-11 Texas product is averaging 17.0 points on .476/.418/.700 shooting splits, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 assists a night. He's twice led the league in blocks, and remains a versatile and engaged defender.

Despite Turner's best efforts, however, Indiana has stalled out to start its 2024-25 tilt. The team is a paltry 6-9 on the year, but in a lackluster Eastern Conference, Indiana is only 2.5 games behind the No. 4-seeded Orlando Magic (9-7). Only four East squads have records above .500.

The Western Conference is a horse of a different color altogether. 11 teams in the West sport records at or better than 8-7 (533). Teams are looking for any kind of edge they can get, ahead of what could be a total toss-up in the playoffs.

Indiana went 47-35 last year and snuck into the Eastern Conference Finals, where it was quickly disposed of by the eventual champion Boston Celtics in a four-game sweep. This year's iteration has dealt with some not-insignificant injury woes, specifically to wings Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith and backup centers Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman. Indiana has also played a majority of its contests so far on the road. But those factors really don't explain why the Pacers haven't been able to capitalize on a soft East, despite the presences of All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton and former two-time All-NBA power forward Pascal Siakam, still in his prime at age 30.

Should the Pacers' season continue to stumble, it may behoove team president Kevin Pritchard to at least consider moving off one of his top trade chips: Turner.

Dean Simon of The Sporting News proposes that Turner be flipped to the Golden State Warriors, a 3-point shooting squad that is currently the top seeded-club in the West with a stellar 11-3 record.

"Currently in the last year of his contract with Indiana before becoming an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2025, Warriors’ general manager Mike Dunleavy may be enticed to pick up the phone to inquire about Turner’s availability as a potential one-year rental, if anything," Simon writes.

The Warriors currently start Trayce Jackson-Davis, who's a bit undersized for a center at 6-foot-9. The second-year big man lacks Turner's offensive portfolio (he doesn't even take 3-point attempts) and rim protection. Turner could bolster Golden State's frontcourt as the club looks to maximize 36-year-old All-Star point guard Stephen Curry's remaining prime.

"Dunleavy could offer plenty of young talent to throw Indiana’s way in exchange for the former fifth-place finisher in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2019, and the addition of Turner’s lights-out shooting, athleticism and rim protection could lead to yet another NBA Finals appearance for Golden State," Simons adds.

The Warriors have several intriguing young players and enough decent draft equity to make a deal work.

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