![\"Pacers](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1751989764_768_960x0.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard speaks during a press conference … More discussing the NBA basketball team’s season in Indianapolis, Tuesday, May 1, 2018. (AP Photo\/Michael Conroy)<\/p>\n
ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/p>\n
INDIANAPOLIS \u2013 Just like the public, Indiana Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard found out the future of center Myles Turner from a tweet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were deep in conversations with Myles [Turner]<\/p>\n
and then we saw that he\u2019d accepted an offer with Milwaukee,\u201d Pritchard shared on Monday. \u201cThat\u2019s part of this business that is challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turner, a Pacers center for the last 10 seasons and a starter for nine, was an unrestricted free agent for the first time of his career. He could choose his next team. Most assumed that would be the Pacers, and options for Turner to get a market-value deal elsewhere looked sparse.<\/p>\n
Out of nowhere, the Milwaukee Bucks made drastic moves to clear cap space. And they used that space on Turner<\/a>, grabbing him away from their division rival. \u201cI think I was shocked. I mean, if I\u2019m being perfectly honest, I thought we were kind of going back and forth in an open way,\u201d Pritchard said of his reaction.<\/p>\n It started with what Pritchard called pleasant negotiations. Like every free agent, Turner had a salary number he wanted to reach in free agency. The Pacers believed they were in the range of that number and they could get a deal done. Before free agency began, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle called retaining Turner the \u201cNumber one priority,\u201d<\/a> for Indiana in the summer.<\/p>\n And the Pacers were prepared to spend. Keeping Turner would have sent the blue and gold over the luxury tax threshold for team salary, somewhere they haven\u2019t been in two decades. It would have been a major commitment from the franchise, but one they deemed worth it after a run to the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n Instead, Turner walked away and joined a team that the Pacers eliminated in the first round of the playoffs each of the last two seasons. And the Pacers found out when they saw a tweet from ESPN reporter Shams Charania<\/a>. Turner was headed to the Bucks on a four year, $107 million agreement (it ended up being close to $109 million<\/a>). The Pacers were losing a starter, and a good one.<\/p>\n \u201cI just felt like we were working towards a deal,\u201d Pritchard said. \u201cBut again, when you\u2019re unrestricted, as soon as you hear a [salary] number that you feel like is good for you\u2026 I think he felt like he had to take that.\u201d<\/p>\n It was surprising that Milwaukee made the moves they did to open up the spending power needed to get Turner. They moved on from superstar guard Damian Lillard to make it possible. Prior to that move, there weren\u2019t any openings besides Indiana for Turner to get a contract that reflected the market for strong starting centers. The Bucks made their moves, which got a hat tip from Pritchard.<\/p>\n \u201cMyles must have heard something in that [offer] that said, ‘I\u2019m gonna take it right now.\u2019,\u201d Pritchard said of Turner taking a deal elsewhere.<\/p>\n The Pacers didn\u2019t have cap space. They held Bird Rights on Turner and were able to pay him any legal contract, but once he bolted they had no other method to add a premier center talent. They are left with salary cap exceptions.<\/p>\n And so, they pivoted. They have since traded for Jay Huff<\/a> and brought in other bigs from their roster last season to get some depth at the five. It\u2019s a less talented big man group than the Pacers had last season, but it\u2019s one Pritchard believes in.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to have three or four really good centers that will come in and compete for a starting position. We\u2019ve always done well when there\u2019s a lot of competition at a position,\u201d he said. \u201cI have a feeling somebody will raise their level and give us a chance to have a good player.\u201d<\/p>\n That may be true. But the Pacers certainly lose something without Turner. He averaged 15.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last season, and he was the only player in the NBA to average at least two blocks per night while shooting better than 39% from three-point range. That\u2019s a desirable mix of skills for a big.<\/p>\n INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – APRIL 29: Myles Turner #33 of the Indiana Pacers reacts in front of Giannis … More Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks during the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on April 29, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Justin Casterline\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n He now heads to a different central division squad, joining up with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Turner replaces Brook Lopez, who left for an opportunity with the Los Angeles Clippers, as Milwaukee\u2019s starting center.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are thrilled that Myles chose our team and city,\u201d Bucks general manager Jon Horst shared. \u201cHe\u2019s a winner and a dynamic player who fits us on both ends of the court.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps Turner was satisfied with his offer from the Bucks and didn\u2019t want to lose it. Free agency moves quickly. Maybe he didn\u2019t want to return to the Pacers at all. As Pritchard explained, Turner didn\u2019t go back to the Pacers to negotiate after Milwaukee made their offer, and only Turner and his representation can answer for why he made that choice \u2013 and that is if Turner\u2019s recount of the events is the same.<\/p>\n In the end, though, Turner is gone. It\u2019s a new chapter for the Pacers at the center position, and that was the number one discussion point from Pritchard at a press conference held on Monday in the Pacers practice facility. But there were a few other key notes the President of Basketball Operations shared.<\/p>\n Indiana Pacers’ James Wiseman (13) dunks against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half of a … More preseason NBA basketball game in Cleveland, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo\/Phil Long)<\/p>\n Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. In a rare move, Pritchard revealed an upcoming signing before it became official. He shared that James Wiseman, who was with the Pacers last season, is re-signing with the franchise.<\/p>\n Indiana liked Wiseman last year and signed him to a two-year contract to be their third center. But just a few minutes into the Pacers opening night outing, the young big man tore his Achilles<\/a> and missed the rest of the season. He was traded to the Toronto Raptors at the trade deadline to clear his salary from the Pacers books, and Toronto instantly waived him.<\/p>\n \u201cI just want to develop, I just want to learn. I don\u2019t have any expectations or anything,\u201d Wiseman said of his initial decision to join Indiana. \u201cThis is already a winning team. So just coming in, just learning, just trying to see what I can do to [have an] impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nJames Wiseman is re-signing with the Pacers<\/p>\n