The Indiana Pacers remain in a situation where making a trade involving one of the centers—Myles Turner or Domantas Sabonis—is the most logical option long-term. Injuries to both players as the NBA trade deadline approaches has complicated the situation in the immediate future.
The Pacers already moved Caris LeVert to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for a package centered around an expiring contract and draft capital—signaling the desire to rebuild.
One team to watch for Turner appears to be the Portland Trail Blazers, who already have gotten active ahead of the NBA trade deadline sending Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the LA Clippers. Jusuf Nurkic is on an expiring deal and already facing a need to improve defensively, Turner makes a lot of sense.
According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, the Portland Trail Blazers and Indiana Pacers shared ‘strong momentum’ in trade discussions surrounding Myles Turner before he suffered the stress reaction in his foot.
Before Myles Turner sustained a stress reaction in his left foot, league personnel were pointing to the Indiana Pacers center as perhaps the first big domino to fall this trade window. There was strong momentum in conversations between Indiana and Portland, sources said, yet there’s dwindling confidence from league personnel about Turner’s injury timeline and his ability to help a potential new team’s playoff push this season.
Some of the absolute worst defense in the NBA is played by the Trail Blazers on a nightly basis. They have Jusuf Nurkic, who isn’t equipped athletically to handle it, out there hedging, playing at the level, switching, and just doing it all looking like a pure liability. Their aggressive scheme has nowhere near the appropriate personnel to run it.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS:: Myles Turner To Be Re-Evaluated In Two Weeks; Impact On Trades
An elite rim protector like Myles Turner would at least give the Trail Blazers a semblance of an idea of how to field a half-court defense. Nurkic isn’t a rim protector and he isn’t one of those versatile options that can guard out in space, so they suffer from lacking an identity.
With the Trail Blazers seemingly finding their way back into the play-in picture, the hope still remains that Damian Lillard will be able to return. The New Orleans Pelicans will be buyers at the NBA trade deadline and will be in real position to push for the final play-in spot—requiring the Blazers to act if they seek to earn that spot.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS:: Myles Turner To Be Re-Evaluated In Two Weeks; Impact On Trades
The severity of Myles Turner’s foot injury has yet to be determined but he has been doing on-court work—offering a favorable sign to prospective suitors. It seems more likely that it’s a week-to-week issue that keeps him out through the All-Star break, but may not be limiting much beyond that for a timetable.
With the Trail Blazers receiving Eric Bledsoe’s contract in return in the trade with the LA Clippers, they now have a contract to use a salary-match. He is earning $18.1 million and only has $3.9 million of his $19.4 million in 2022-23 guaranteed. Portland could attach draft capital to Bledsoe in a deal going to Indiana—creating a trade package emblematic of the one they gained in return for Caris LeVert.
Elsewhere in Portland, after initial trade conversations, Jusuf Nurkic appears unlikely to be moved, as the veteran center and Trail Blazers brass have mutual interest in agreeing to a new contract this offseason, sources said. How that impacts Portland’s previous interest in acquiring Turner remains unclear. Yet if the Blazers are willing to repackage any draft capital obtained in a McCollum trade, numerous league personnel have pointed to Bledsoe’s salary as a matching value for Turner’s $17.5 million deal that expires after 2022-23.
A financial obstacle of trading for Myles Turner from the Trail Blazers’ perspective is that 2022-23 is the final season of his current contract, then he will need a new deal.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS:: Myles Turner To Be Re-Evaluated In Two Weeks; Impact On Trades
The limiting nature of the Portland Trail Blazers’ salary cap table would make it challenging to give him a raise from the $18 million average annual salary he receives. If that’s not a concern, then pursuing a trade makes sense.
