NEWSLETTER
The Indiana Pacers have taken one of the prime free-agent centers off the market.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Myles Turner and the Pacers have reached an agreement on a two-year, $60 million contract extension. This will include renegotiating his current deal to add $17.1 million to his 2022-23 salary before he receives $41 million over the next two seasons.
While an extension was always on the table between the two parties, recent reports suggested that there was little traction. With that being the case, questions started to surface about whether or not the Pacers may look to trade the free-agent-to-be to avoid losing him for nothing. Now, however, it’s clear that Turner isn’t going anywhere and several teams crossing their fingers will have to look elsewhere.
Indeed, this news could have a somewhat significant impact on the next couple of weeks. We know there are a handful of center-hungry teams around the NBA, and removing one of the top names from the equation could force some of those teams to up their aggressiveness. The Chicago Bulls will certainly want to keep an eye on that, as they could be in a position this summer to add a new starting center (Nikola Vucevic is headed toward unrestricted free agency).
The last thing to note is that Turner’s absence from the free agent and trade deadline mix could only improve the value of Vucevic around the league. Not only might more teams be interested in targeting him for a second-half push, but he’ll undoubtedly move up a couple of wishlists this summer.
