Miami Heat Receive: F/C Myles Turner
Indiana Pacers Receive: G Tyler Herro, F Kelly Olynyk, MIA 2025 1st Round Pick (Top-8) Protected
Not only is he one of the best defensive big men in the NBA, but he is a player with a reasonable contract to deal. Myles Turner has been at the top of the list of the league’s best defensive big men for the last several seasons and so far this season, he looks like one of the clear-cut favorites to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award.
The Indiana Pacers love what they have in their big man and currently have not been involved in any trade discussions revolving around Myles Turner, but the Heat have the mix of young players and draft assets to be able to make a run at a player of his caliber. For years now, Turner has been involved in a ton of NBA trade rumors and this past offseason, neither the young center or the Pacers gave us a glimpse into what the future may hold for him.
Not only is Myles Turner under-utilized on the offensive-end of the court in Indiana, but he has always been overshadowed by other high-level offensive talents. This season, Turner ranks 5th on the team in scoring, and with Oladipo gone, TJ Warren injured and Caris LeVert sidelined indefinitely, it was expected Turner’s overall production would increase, but it has not.
With him being owed just $17.5M over the next three years, the 24-year old center is a very affordable option for the Heat and could help them get back to being one of the best defensive teams in the league, which helped propel them to the NBA Finals a season ago.
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Myles Turner not only led the league in blocks during the 2018-19 season, but he is currently leading the league in blocks this season. He is on pace to potentially have 250 blocks this season, which would be a great achievement for him since there are only 72 games built into the NBA schedule for each team this year.
Turner’s future in Indiana is definitely something to monitor heading into this year’s trade deadline and there is definitely a possibility that the Pacers could look to see what they can get for the big man. Tyler Herro is definitely a player they could utilize and getting a future first-round pick is also of value to this organization.
With this said, let’s take a closer look as to if this trade makes sense for both the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers.