The longest tenured player on the Indiana Pacers is due for a major payday. Myles Turner has survived a plethora of trade rumors throughout his 10-year NBA career. He has proven that he is insurmountable to the Pacers’ success with their 2025 NBA Finals run as an example. Indiana is willing to do whatever is possible to retain their team’s anchor.
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Remarkably, the Pacers are just two games away from becoming NBA champions. Although their primary focus is on finishing the job, they can’t ignore what is looming on the horizon. Turner will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. In the past, he has signed team-friendly deals, helping the team build a roster that can compete. This time around, however, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Turner’s previous contract was a four-year deal worth $80 million. His annual salary was $20 million. Subsequently, Forbes insider Evan Sidery reported that the number will most likely jump to $30 million annually.
At the beginning of the season, the Pacers may have been hesitant to invest that much into their starting center. In March, a report by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst claimed the Pacers will not be breaking their 20-year no Luxury Tax streak. One thing about the NBA is that it can change the dynamics of a team quickly.
ESPN insider Shams Charania revealed Indiana remains committed to this core. Despite the decision resulting in financial repercussions.
“The Indiana Pacers know they need to have Myles Turner back. They can’t afford to lose him,” Charania said on The Pat McAfee Show. “I am told the organization is prepared and expecting to pay the luxury tax.”
Nonetheless, the possibility of the Pacers potentially paying the luxury tax is huge news. Indiana has always been a team to avoid falling into that tax bracket.
The last time they were in the luxury tax was in the 2005-06 season. Similarly, the Pacers had a roster they believed could contend for a championship at the time.
Fortunately for Indiana, they don’t have much competition on the open market in terms of re-signing Turner. The only team with enough cap space to offer him an outright contract is the Brooklyn Nets.
Any other team with hopes of adding Turner to their roster could only make it happen through a sign-and-trade. Of course, that is only contingent on whether the 6-foot-11 big man decides to begin a new chapter.
The interest in Turner staying in Indiana isn’t one-sided, as the two-time blocks champion desires to remain a Pacer. He isn’t just a basketball player among the fans; he is a pillar within the community. He has spent a third of his life in Indiana and hopes to add another.
Seeing how the Pacers want him back, and how he wants to stay, it shouldn’t take the two sides long to work out a deal and make it official when free-agency starts.
