Did Tyrese Haliburton Injury Lead Myles Turner to Leave Pacers? New Bucks Star Answers

The former Pacers center let everyone know if this was a factor in his decision to leave Indy.

Jun 16, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during the second quarter of game five of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers will have a new starting center next season for the first time in a decade. Myles Turner decided to sign a $108.9 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks over the next four years.

Turner now becomes the second-best player that the Bucks have after Damian Lillard was waived to make room for him. He has a lot more pressure on him, but he is embracing his new role in a new city.

During his introductory press conference, Turner was asked a lot of questions about why he decided to leave the Pacers.

More news: Myles Turner Calls Out Pacers in Introductory Press Conference With Bucks

It has been theorized that one of the reasons Turner decided to leave Indiana is because of the injury that Tyrese Haliburton suffered. He danced around the questions.

Myles Turner was asked if Tyrese Haliburton’s injury impacted his FA decision:

“You realize how hard it is to get there (the NBA Finals)…The only thing that went into this decision was getting to get that experience again.”

— Alex Golden (@AlexGoldenNBA) July 11, 2025

It's pretty clear that the injury had a little bit of an impact on his decision. Had Haliburton not gotten hurt, it would have been very hard for Turner to leave Indiana.

After having made it to Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the Pacers were expected to be the favorites to once again win the Eastern Conference had Haliburton not gotten hurt.

Instead, the Pacers are looked at as a playoff team and nothing more for next season. But for Turner to only consider next season would have been short-sighted of him.

Turner likely had enough of the trade rumors and the lowball offers. That's probably a bigger reason why he decided to change teams for the first time in his career than anything else.

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The Pacers are moving on from Turner, regardless, so they don't really care what the reason is. They will thank Turner for all of his contributions over the years and move on with Isaiah Jackson, Jay Huff, and James Wiseman.

Turner will have to take a big leap in responsibility with the Bucks if he wants to have a shot at winning a championship in the next four years. That doesn't even count if Giannis Antetokounmpo asks out in a trade.

This past season with the Pacers, Turner averaged 15.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game.

More news: Former Pacer Myles Turner Says His Words Are Being Twisted to Fit Narrative Following Shock Exit

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