NBA Insider on Why Pacers Should Be 'Absolutely Disgusted' by Myles Turner Move

Tyrese Haliburton during Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
Tyrese Haliburton during Game 6 of the NBA Finals. / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers were up 2–1 in the NBA Finals just a few short weeks ago. Since then they've lost the Finals, they've lost Tyrese Haliburton to a torn achilles and they've lost Myles Turner to free agency.

The last one is what might upset Haliburton, coach Rick Carlisle and the fans the most according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst. During First Take on Tuesday, Windhorst expressed dismay at the Pacers letting their longtime center walk to a rival.

"If I'm an Indiana Pacer right now, I'm absolutely disgusted," said Windhorst. "I am sick to my stomach. If I'm Tyrese Haliburton, I am breaking things right now. If I'm Rick Carlisle, I'm furious at just what’s happened because they were unwilling to spend a little bit of luxury tax money to hold this team in place for a year when Haliburton came back. To go to a team that they hate. They hate the Bucks. So it’s gonna take a while to digest this. And if Giannis tweets later today a big smiling emoji and indicates that he is happy as a clam, the Bucks can declare a win, but I’m not sure the balance of power was changed in the Eastern Conference even though this was a stunning turn of events.

So far Antotenkounmpo's social media reaction has been much more inconclusive and actual reports have suggested he is not a big smiling emoji, but time will tell.

Haliburton, for his part, has not publicly reacted to anything, but a Pacers championship window that appeared to be quickly closing after his injury now feels slammed shut.


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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.