Indiana Pacers

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner is reportedly "intrigued by the chance" to play alongside Tyrese Haliburton and would like to remain with the team despite trade rumors, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Per that report, "Turner would also have an opportunity for the larger role he’s wanted offensively with Domantas Sabonis now in Sacramento. Turner and Haliburton never got a chance to play together last season while Turner was out with a foot injury."

Scotto added that veteran Lance Stephenson is hoping to re-sign with the Pacers.

Turner, 26, appeared in only 42 games for the Pacers last year because of a stress reaction in his left foot. He averaged 12.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 33.3 percent from three.

He's one of the few centers in the NBA who can offer legitimate rim protection and floor-spacing on offense, even if his three-point shot has trended downward since shooting a career-high 38.8 percent from three in the 2018-19 campaign. He hasn't been above 35 percent since.

The question in Indiana, however, is whether the Pacers (25-57) are doing a soft rebuild in the hopes of sneaking back into the playoffs immediately or whether they want to fully rebuild around the young talent they have in Haliburton (22), Chris Duarte (25), Jalen Smith (22) and the No. 6 overall pick in Thursday's NBA draft.

If they go the former route, keeping Turner makes perfect sense. If they fully embrace a rebuild around the young talent, however, Turner could fetch players more on Haliburton's timeline or future draft assets.

As for Stephenson, the 31-year-old would give the Pacers another solid role player off the bench after averaging 9.3 points and 3.9 assists in 40 games last season (one start).

The Pacers could replicate that production with other veterans in free agency, but if Stephenson is willing to return on a veteran minimum contract, a reunion might make sense.

It appears the Washington Wizards are looking at a variety of players to pair with Bradley Beal ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.

The Wizards are interested in several point guards, including Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, San Antonio Spurs veteran Dejounte Murray and Indiana Pacers veteran Malcolm Brogdon, according to NBA insider Quinton Mayo.

Though Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer recently reported that the Pacers are testing the market for Brogdon, it's unclear if the Thunder would be willing to part ways with Gilgeous-Alexander or the Spurs with Murray.

Gilgeous-Alexander has become a cornerstone for the Thunder, and he had a solid 2021-22 season, averaging a career-high 24.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 45.3 percent from the floor and 30.0 percent from deep in 56 games.

If Oklahoma City were to part ways with the 23-year-old, it would cost Washington a pretty penny. That said, the Thunder own the second overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft and could use that to select a replacement for him.

We know Thunder general manager Sam Presti likes to stockpile draft picks. Would he be willing to part ways with Gilgeous-Alexander for a package of picks and players? It's worth wondering.

Murray, meanwhile, would also be difficult for the Wizards to acquire, as he also had a career year this season. The 25-year-old averaged a career-high 21.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 46.2 percent from the floor and 32.7 percent from deep in 68 games.

As for Brogdon, he had a solid 2021-22 season, averaging 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists while shooting 44.8 percent from the floor and 31.2 percent from deep in 36 games. However, the Pacers could stand to move him following the acquisition of Tyrese Haliburton.

With Indiana attempting to get younger, Brogdon doesn't fit the team's timeline at 29 years old. While he's not the best of the three players the Wizards desire, he would be Washington's most reasonable option.

If the Wizards don't land any of these players, they'll need to do something else to entice Beal, who has a player option for the 2022-23 season, to stay. The three-time All-Star recently said he was going to base his decision on where he feels he can win, and if he feels the Wizards can't win next season, he'll likely move on.

Washington hasn't had a winning season since the 2017-18 campaign and has made the playoffs just twice in the last five seasons. The team finished the 2021-22 season 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 35-47 record.

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner is reportedly considering playing on an expiring contract next season rather than signing an extension.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Turner and the Pacers are expected to have contract talks this offseason, but he isn't ruling out the possibility of playing out the remainder of his current contract, which will pay him $18 million next season.

Stein noted that such a scenario would put the Pacers in a tough spot since Turner could leave in free agency next offseason, meaning Indiana would perhaps consider trading him during the 2022-23 campaign.

The Pacers took a big step toward committing to Turner for the long haul last season when they traded All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings in a deal that netted guards Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield.

By trading Sabonis, the Pacers seemingly made a statement that Turner is their go-to guy inside, but that hasn't yielded a new contract yet.

The 26-year-old Turner suffered a stress reaction in his left foot before the trade and never made it back during the 2021-22 campaign, limiting him to just 42 games.

Turner was productive when healthy once again last season, averaging 12.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.8 blocks, 1.5 three-pointers made and 1.0 assist while shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Durability has been an issue for him over the years, though, as he has played in less than 50 games in each of the past two seasons and has appeared in 70 or more games just twice in seven NBA seasons.

As a result of the injury, Turner didn't get a chance to play alongside Haliburton last season, so the Pacers couldn't get an idea of how they meshed together.

Signing Turner to a new deal this offseason would mean going in blind, but waiting until during the season would possibly increase the likelihood of losing Turner for nothing or having to trade him.

After making the playoffs in nine out of 10 seasons, the Pacers missed the postseason in 2020-21 with a 34-38 record and fell off even more last season to 25-57, marking their worst record since the 1984-85 season.

Turner's status as a two-time NBA blocks champion and a defensive force at center makes him a valuable asset to the Pacers, but it may be worth exploring a trade for more future assets to accelerate the rebuild if he doesn't want to re-sign.

As they chart a new course for the future, the Indiana Pacers still see Myles Turner as an important part of the roster.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported Wednesday (via RealGM) that the Pacers are likely to keep Turner rather than trade him as he enters the final year of his contract.

The Athletic's Shams Charania and Bob Kravitz reported in December the Pacers were warming to the idea of trading away their notable veterans in order to rebuild. Indiana subsequently dealt Domantas Sabonis and Caris LeVert.

Turner stuck around despite being mentioned as a possible candidate to also leave. However, he missed nearly the entire second half of the season because of a stress reaction in his foot.

Now that it's the offseason, it's natural that the 6'11" center would be the subject of trade speculation. But Stein reported in April that the team prefers to keep the two-time block champion, and it appears nothing has changed on that front.

Indiana was fortunate in that it effectively swapped one franchise cornerstone for another when it sent Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings.

Tyrese Haliburton averaged 17.5 points and 9.6 assists in 26 games with Indiana, and he provided ample hope for the future. While the Pacers still need to make improvements to challenge for a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference, their road back may not be as arduous as it typically is for rebuilding teams considering their foundation.

The risk of keeping Turner, however, is he could always leave as an unrestricted free agent next summer. That said, he's only 26 years old, so he can fit into Indiana's short- and long-term vision if the two sides can strike a new deal.

At the very least, seeing how the Turner/Haliburton partnership works before seriously entertaining trade offers makes sense. Doing so runs that risk that Indiana will lose its leverage at the negotiating table should the pairing fail to work out, but that's still probably a gamble worth making.

The New York Knicks have been searching for a playmaking point guard for years, and it appears that they're willing to pursue a trade for a veteran.

According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, the Knicks are interested in acquiring Indiana Pacers floor general Malcolm Brogdon. The Pacers brought in young point guard Tyrese Haliburton at this season's trade deadline, potentially making Brogdon expendable.

"Haliburton's addition has made the Pacers evaluate the future of their incumbent point guard, Malcolm Brogdon, whom the Knicks have some interest in as he’s a better defender and with more size than free agent Jalen Brunson," Berman wrote. "Brogdon is 6-foot-5 but comes with a heavy contract."

Brogdon will make $22.6 million during the 2022-23 season, per Spotrac. After that, the two-year, $45 million extension he signed last year will kick in, keeping him under contract until 2025.

The 29-year-old Brogdon has had an injury-riddled run in Indiana, never playing more than 56 games in any of his three seasons with the team. He was limited to 36 games this past year while dealing with an Achilles injury.

When healthy, Brogdon is a consistently productive point guard who can run an offense for a playoff contender. In limited action in 2021-22, he averaged 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists.

A trade for Brogdon is likely to cost a substantial amount. New York has multiple players that it would be willing to part ways with such as Alec Burks and Kemba Walker, but that might not be enough to entice the Pacers to part ways with Brogdon.

The Knicks finished 37-45 this season and fell short of the playoffs. New York has the No. 11 pick in the 2022 NBA draft and could look to address the point guard position. Promising prospects expected to be available include Kentucky's TyTy Washington and G League Ignite's Dyson Daniels.

The Philadelphia 76ers defeated Rick Carlisle's Indiana Pacers 133-120 on Saturday behind a 41-point performance from MVP candidate Joel Embiid, and while speaking with reporters after the game, the head coach lauded the veteran big man. 

"We haven’t seen a guy like this in the history of the league who has this kind of power and skill," Carlisle said. "He's able to score on all three levels effortlessly. He's an amazing player, and it will be interesting to see what teams do in the playoffs to try to slow him down."

This isn't the first time Carlisle has commented on how dangerous Embiid can be. Back in 2017 when he was coaching the Dallas Mavericks, he joked that the big man is so good that showing film of him to his team could be dangerous.

"You have to be careful what you show in pregame edits, or you might scare the s--t out of your team," Carlisle said at the time.

Embiid also had 20 rebounds and four assists against the Pacers. It marked his third 40-plus-point performance over the last week. He scored 44 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday and 45 against the Pacers on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old also made history Saturday by becoming the first center to average at least 30 points per game since Moses Malone accomplished the feat in 1982. 

Embiid has improved in each of his NBA seasons, but the 2021-22 campaign has seen him reach a new level. He entered Saturday's game averaging 30.4 points, 11.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 blocks while shooting 49.5 percent from the floor and 36.5 percent from deep in 67 games.

The Sixers will need Embiid to be just as potent in the postseason, though there's no question that he'll be the best player on the court against whichever team Philadelphia plays in the first round. 

During the 2021 playoffs, Embiid averaged 28.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.5 blocks while shooting 51.3 percent from the floor and 39.0 percent from deep in 11 games. Considering the Sixers have a more experienced Tyrese Maxey and added superstar guard James Harden, Embiid is primed to have his best postseason yet. 

The Sixers will end the 2021-22 regular season Sunday against the Detroit Pistons. They sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 50-31 record and could move to third with a win and a Boston Celtics loss. 

The Indiana Pacers are reportedly planning to keep center Myles Turner rather than trading him.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Turner was the subject of trade rumors for much of the 2021-22 season, but All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis was traded to the Sacramento Kings instead. As a result, league sources now believe the Pacers want to hang on to Turner.

If the Pacers have long-term plans for Turner, a contract extension is needed, as he can become a free agent after the 2022-23 season.

While Turner has been out since January with a foot injury and won't play in Indiana's final two games of the season, he was highly productive again this season when healthy.

In 42 games, Turner averaged 12.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and 1.5 three-pointers made per contest. He also shot 50.9 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.

His scoring and rebounding averages were his best since the 2018-19 season, plus his field-goal percentage was the second-best mark of his career.

Turner has become a far more complete player over the years, expanding his shooting range and developing into a competent three-point shooter, but defense remains his bread and butter.

The 6'11" big man is a two-time NBA blocks champion, including the career-high 3.4 blocks per game he achieved in 2020-21.

Turner would likely be leading the blocks race by a significant margin again this season, but since he hasn't played enough games, Robert Williams of the Boston Celtics and Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies are tied for the league lead with 2.2 blocks per game.

Many teams would love the opportunity to trade for the 26-year-old Turner, and it seemed like a possibility for much of the season due to the Pacers' struggles.

Indiana is a disappointing 25-55, placing it 13th in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers won't be in the playoffs for the second consecutive season after reaching the postseason five years in a row and nine times in 10 years before last season.

T.J. Warren and Ricky Rubio are among the key Pacers set to become free agents this offseason, plus Stein noted that they are expected to shop point guard Malcolm Brogdon.

That means the Pacers are seemingly looking to move ahead with a core of Turner and Tyrese Haliburton, but they will have to put a much better supporting cast around them in order to return to playoff contention.

Rick Carlisle's first season back as the head coach of the Indiana Pacers has not gone according to plan with a 25-55 record, but he doesn't plan on joining the front office any time soon.

"I came here to coach," he told reporters when addressing speculation he might switch roles with the franchise. "I want to put this to rest once and for all."

Carlisle has missed time this season on multiple occasions, sitting out four games in December after he tested positive for COVID-19 and missing a two-game road trip in March because of personal reasons.

Yet the 62-year-old's comments indicate he plans on leading the Pacers into the future as they perhaps look to build around Tyrese Haliburton.

Carlisle has been a head coach in the NBA since the 2001-02 campaign for the Detroit Pistons, Pacers and Dallas Mavericks. He notably won a championship with the Mavericks in 2010-11 when they defeated LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, and this is his second stint as the head coach of the Pacers.

He was previously the leader on the sidelines for four seasons from 2003-04 through 2006-07.

Indiana made the playoffs three times in that span, including an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, but has struggled to replicate that success during what has been a trying season that saw it trade Domantas Sabonis and Caris LeVert.

Myles Turner and Malcolm Brogdon have also missed significant time with injuries, making it all the more difficult to compete in the Eastern Conference.

Fortunately for the Pacers, there is some optimism for the future with Haliburton aboard, and Carlisle plans on coaching him as the franchise looks to put this season behind it.            

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner will miss the rest of the regular season because of his foot injury, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The issue has kept him out since mid-January, although he has made "good progress in his recovery," per Wojnarowski.

Indiana has already been eliminated from the playoffs, however, providing little reason to rush Turner back with just seven games in the regular season. 

The 26-year-old has dealt with nagging injuries throughout his career, appearing in at least 70 games just twice in his seven NBA seasons. One of his more recent injuries, a toe issue, caused him to miss 22 of Indiana's final 23 games during the 2020-21 campaign.

When healthy, Turner is one of the most effective centers in the league. In 42 games this season, he will finish with averages of 12.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. He also shot 50.9 percent from the floor, his best mark since the 2016-17 season. 

With the Texas alum unable to suit up, the Pacers have turned to younger options Goga Bitadze and Jalen Smith at the five. The two players will take advantage of the extra minutes as the season comes to a close.

The Pacers are a disappointing 25-50 this season, 13th place in the Eastern Conference, after finishing the 2020-21 season 34-38.

The Sacramento Kings' decision to trade Tyrese Haliburton caught many people off guard, including Haliburton. 

Appearing on NBA Today (starts at 0:36 mark), Haliburton said he "thought it was a joke" when his agent told him the Kings might move him. 

The Kings sent Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson to the Indiana Pacers for Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday and a 2023 second-round pick on Feb. 8. 

The No. 12 overall pick by the Kings in 2020, Haliburton looked like a budding star during his brief time with the organization.

Haliburton was named to the All-Rookie team last season and was averaging 14.3 points and 7.4 assists per game with a 41.3 three-point percentage in 51 starts with the Kings this season prior to the trade. 

Last offseason, when the Kings were being discussed as a potential landing spot for Ben Simmons, The Athletic's Sam Amick reported they wouldn't include Haliburton or De'Aaron Fox in a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. 

In January, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee noted Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has been growing impatient trying to get the franchise to the playoffs for the first time since 2005-06. 

Sabonis is a proven commodity and a two-time All-Star, but he hasn't generally been regarded as a player who raises a team's ceiling. 

The Kings have gone 2-2 in four games since the trade. Their 22-38 record ranks 13th in the Western Conference, 3.5 games behind the Portland Trail Blazers for the final spot in the play-in tournament. 

Haliburton has yet to establish himself as a star who can help teams win games, but he's only 21 years old. The Iowa State alum has shown a deft shooting touch with a 41.3 three-point percentage in his career. He is averaging 20.8 points per game in four starts with the Pacers.