Indiana Pacers starting center Myles Turner made it clear earlier this week that he would be open to being traded by the team. He has been on the trade block for years and it feels like he could be on his way out this time ahead of the NBA trade deadline.
Earlier this week Turner said he wants an opportunity to have a bigger role with the team. He believes the Indiana Pacers only view him as a glorified rotational player and is ready to showcase that he can handle a bigger role than that.
Turner has been shoehorned as a floor-spacing five that can protect the rim defensively, but that is selling him short. With Domantas Sabonis dominating so many of the frontcourt touches, Turner has been relegated to spending most of his time floating around the perimeter, but he has the skills to do more than just shoot 3-pointers.
The Texas product is in the midst of arguably the best season of his career. He is having the most efficient season of his career, making 53.1 percent of his shots overall and 39.7 percent of his 3-point attempts, equaling out to an impressive 63.6 effective field goal percentage.
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The 7.3 rebounds he is averaging are tied for a career-high as well. Myles Turner remains an elite rim protector, leading the league with 2.8 blocks per game.
Numerous teams would love to add someone with that skillset into their lineup. One of the teams to keep an eye on is the New York Knicks.
According to Ian Begley of SNY.com, there are people within New York’s front office that like the idea of pursuing a trade for Turner this season. Turner’s availability was something that Leon Rose and Scott Perry looked into during the offseason, but talks didn’t progress very far.
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The Knicks have seen their defense drop off drastically this season after it was their identity last season. Head coach Tom Thibodeau has to be fuming that his defense is sub-par, as his teams are usually excellent on that end of the floor.
New York has seen firsthand the impact that Myles Turner can have, as he torched the New YorkKnicks twice this season out of the three matchups the two teams have had. He would bring a much-needed upgrade to a Knicks’ offense that doesn’t have a big man that can stretch the floor.
As an elite defensive anchor, he is someone that could help the team turn around their performance on that end of the court as well.
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If the teams are going to come together on a deal, one of Mitchell Robinson, Nerlens Noel and Taj Gibson will likely be included in the deal. New York can also include Kevin Knox or Kemba Walker, who was recently removed from the rotation. The New York Knicks have all of their draft picks and one from each of the Charlotte Hornets and Dallas Mavericks that can be included in a deal as well.
