“Milwaukee valued me a bit more” – Myles Turner explains why he left the Pacers to sign with the Bucks originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Many were shocked that Myles Turner left the Indiana Pacers this summer. The 29-year-old was a key player in the team’s run to the 2025 NBA Finals, and despite being an unrestricted free agent, everyone expected the Pacers would keep him.
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But in the surprising turn of events, he signed with the Milwaukee Bucks.
During a recent interview with SiriusXM NBA radio, Turner explained his decision to leave the team with which he played his first 10 years in the NBA.
“For me, personally, I want a chance to stay competitive, you know, heading to my 30s right now, and I looked at the way this roster with Milwaukee is constructed and how I can come in and use my talents to try to get back to that fold. So, I won’t say that it played a part in my ultimate decision. It may have played a factor in the front office’s decisions. But that’s not for me to discuss,” said Turner.
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The Bucks made a better offer
After Tyrese Haliburton suffered an Achilles tear in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, fans feared the Pacers could hit a speed bump next season. Those worries were confirmed when team president Kevin Pritchard announced they would take a cautious approach with their star point guard and let him sit out the entire 2025-26 campaign.
With their best player out, it will be hard for the Pacers to get back to the Finals. Turner himself feels that way, which is why he decided to leave.
Turner also talked about his former team not valuing him as a free agent. There were reports that the Pacers’ final offer to him was less than $23 million per year. The Bucks, meanwhile, signed him to a four-year $108 million deal.
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“I feel that Milwaukee valued me a bit more. And I think that they tried a little harder. But at the end of the day, it’s not for me to discuss right now. I just know out of respect for that organization, out of respect for my incoming organization right now. It was an interesting process,” he added.
Pacers president was shocked by Turner leaving
Pritchard also recently spoke about what happened with the Turner situation. He said the organization tried its best to negotiate with its center, and the owners were even willing to pay the tax to keep him.
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“Herb Simon and Steven Rales and the Simon family were fully prepared to go deep into the tax to keep him, and we really wanted to do that. We were negotiating in good faith. But what happens in this league is sometimes you are in negotiations, but because a guy is unrestricted, he has the right to say, ‘That’s the offer I want, and I’m going to take it, and that’s the best for my family.'” We were in good faith in negotiations,” the Pacers president said.
The Bucks waived Damian Lillard, who might miss the entire 2025-26 season after suffering an Achilles tear in the 2025 playoffs against the Pacers, to sign Turner, hoping that would be enough for Giannis Antetokounmpo to sign a new contract with the team.
And while The Greek Freak still hasn’t extended his loyalty to the Bucks, the Turner acquisition makes them a bigger threat in the East. Big enough to at least make the NBA Finals? Only time will tell.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 17, 2025, where it first appeared.