Pacers Reportedly Reluctant to Pay Myles Turner in Free Agency

The Indiana Pacers have some tough choices to make as we get closer to the upcoming NBA trade deadline. Indiana has been one of the hottest teams across the association of late and it could have them making a splash at the deadline.

But in order for the team to make a massive deal, it will require them to consider how they plan to form their roster moving forward. Star center Myles Turner is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the season and he could leave in free agency.

While the Pacers want to retain him, whenever a player hits the open market, all bets are off. Turner has been a valuable piece to the Pacers for years but it could take a large contract to keep him in Indiana.

This has led to a ton of speculation about the Pacers possibly trading Turner before the deadline to avoid losing him for nothing. And new reporting from NBA insider Jake Fischer states that Indiana could be reluctant to pay Turner what it may take this offseason.

"Right now, every rival executive I've spoken to has said that they don't anticipate Indiana wanting to pay the salary that Myles Turner is, in theory, going to be looking for...he's going to want 30 [million per year]," Fischer said. "People want $30 million right now, it's going to be twice the mid-level... there's so much skepticism that Indiana's going to want to do it."

If the Pacers were to lose Turner, it would be detrimental to their overall success on the floor. Turner is one of the best players on the roster and has been a true leader for years.

So far this season, Turner has averaged 15.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 2.0 blocks per game. Turner has been a catalyst in helping the Pacers turn their season around but the front office does need to weigh how potentially losing him for nothing could impact this team.

We should have a clearer understanding of how the team views Turner in the next two weeks as we approach the deadline. But it seems that Turner could potentially leave Indiana either fairly soon or this summer.

More Pacers news:

Pacers Luxury Tax Concerns Could Impact Trade Deadline Plans: Report

Pacers Could Land $125M Forward Before Trade Deadline

Pacers Predicted to Land $20M Center in Blockbuster Deal

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