Pacers Shocked By Myles Turner Departure, Forced To Pivot At Center

INDIANAPOLIS – Just like the public, Indiana Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard found out the future of center Myles Turner from a tweet.

“We were deep in conversations with Myles [Turner]

and then we saw that he’d accepted an offer with Milwaukee,” Pritchard shared on Monday. “That’s part of this business that is challenging.”

Turner, a Pacers center for the last 10 seasons and a starter for nine, was an unrestricted free agent for the first time of his career. He could choose his next team. Most assumed that would be the Pacers, and options for Turner to get a market-value deal elsewhere looked sparse.

Out of nowhere, the Milwaukee Bucks made drastic moves to clear cap space. And they used that space on Turner, grabbing him away from their division rival. “I think I was shocked. I mean, if I’m being perfectly honest, I thought we were kind of going back and forth in an open way,” Pritchard said of his reaction.

It started with what Pritchard called pleasant negotiations. Like every free agent, Turner had a salary number he wanted to reach in free agency. The Pacers believed they were in the range of that number and they could get a deal done. Before free agency began, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle called retaining Turner the “Number one priority,” for Indiana in the summer.

And the Pacers were prepared to spend. Keeping Turner would have sent the blue and gold over the luxury tax threshold for team salary, somewhere they haven’t been in two decades. It would have been a major commitment from the franchise, but one they deemed worth it after a run to the NBA Finals.

Instead, Turner walked away and joined a team that the Pacers eliminated in the first round of the playoffs each of the last two seasons. And the Pacers found out when they saw a tweet from ESPN reporter Shams Charania. Turner was headed to the Bucks on a four year, $107 million agreement (it ended up being close to $109 million). The Pacers were losing a starter, and a good one.

“I just felt like we were working towards a deal,” Pritchard said. “But again, when you’re unrestricted, as soon as you hear a [salary] number that you feel like is good for you… I think he felt like he had to take that.”

It was surprising that Milwaukee made the moves they did to open up the spending power needed to get Turner. They moved on from superstar guard Damian Lillard to make it possible. Prior to that move, there weren’t any openings besides Indiana for Turner to get a contract that reflected the market for strong starting centers. The Bucks made their moves, which got a hat tip from Pritchard.

“Myles must have heard something in that [offer] that said, ‘I’m gonna take it right now.’,” Pritchard said of Turner taking a deal elsewhere.

The Pacers didn’t have cap space. They held Bird Rights on Turner and were able to pay him any legal contract, but once he bolted they had no other method to add a premier center talent. They are left with salary cap exceptions.

And so, they pivoted. They have since traded for Jay Huff and brought in other bigs from their roster last season to get some depth at the five. It’s a less talented big man group than the Pacers had last season, but it’s one Pritchard believes in.

“We’re going to have three or four really good centers that will come in and compete for a starting position. We’ve always done well when there’s a lot of competition at a position,” he said. “I have a feeling somebody will raise their level and give us a chance to have a good player.”

That may be true. But the Pacers certainly lose something without Turner. He averaged 15.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last season, and he was the only player in the NBA to average at least two blocks per night while shooting better than 39% from three-point range. That’s a desirable mix of skills for a big.

He now heads to a different central division squad, joining up with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Turner replaces Brook Lopez, who left for an opportunity with the Los Angeles Clippers, as Milwaukee’s starting center.

“We are thrilled that Myles chose our team and city,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst shared. “He’s a winner and a dynamic player who fits us on both ends of the court.”

Perhaps Turner was satisfied with his offer from the Bucks and didn’t want to lose it. Free agency moves quickly. Maybe he didn’t want to return to the Pacers at all. As Pritchard explained, Turner didn’t go back to the Pacers to negotiate after Milwaukee made their offer, and only Turner and his representation can answer for why he made that choice – and that is if Turner’s recount of the events is the same.

In the end, though, Turner is gone. It’s a new chapter for the Pacers at the center position, and that was the number one discussion point from Pritchard at a press conference held on Monday in the Pacers practice facility. But there were a few other key notes the President of Basketball Operations shared.

James Wiseman is re-signing with the Pacers

In a rare move, Pritchard revealed an upcoming signing before it became official. He shared that James Wiseman, who was with the Pacers last season, is re-signing with the franchise.

Indiana liked Wiseman last year and signed him to a two-year contract to be their third center. But just a few minutes into the Pacers opening night outing, the young big man tore his Achilles and missed the rest of the season. He was traded to the Toronto Raptors at the trade deadline to clear his salary from the Pacers books, and Toronto instantly waived him.

“I just want to develop, I just want to learn. I don’t have any expectations or anything,” Wiseman said of his initial decision to join Indiana. “This is already a winning team. So just coming in, just learning, just trying to see what I can do to [have an] impact.”

Wiseman spent time rehabbing in the Pacers facility even after being traded away, and he ended up signing another cheap two-year deal with the Pacers, a deal that became official a few hours after Pritchard announced it.

Isaiah Jackson might also return to the Pacers

Isaiah Jackson also was mentioned by Pritchard in his press conference. The President shared that there was an internal free agent who has been on the team that the Pacers were close to finalizing a deal with.

When asked later if that player is Isaiah Jackson, Pritchard said that is a good guess. “We’re moving in a good direction with Isaiah,” he said. “I think the sky’s the limit for him.”

Jackson is a restricted free agent after receiving a qualifying offer from Indiana, so the blue and gold have the right of first refusal in free agency. If Jackson signs a deal elsewhere, the Pacers could match it. All signs point to him returning to the Pacers, which would give the team a center rotation of Jackson, Huff, Wiseman, and Tony Bradley.

Tyrese Hahliburton will miss all of the Pacers 2025-26 season

Haliburton suffered a torn Achilles in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, which drastically altered the Pacers projection for the upcoming campaign.

It was expected that he’d miss all of next season, and Pritchard made that official. “He will not play next year, though. We would not jeopardize that now,” Pritchard said. “So don’t get any hopes up that he will play.”

That certainly lowers the ceiling for Indiana next year. But Pritchard hopes that people will write off his team again. They’ve performed well when doubted.

“I’m hopeful that people write us off,” he said of the Pacers. “Let’s put it that way.”