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2025 Free Agents - Myles Turner

Turner may not be an All-Star level player, but he has the ability to fit into a lot of situations due to his ability to stretch the floor on offense and protect the rim on defense, the latter of which likely being the most important skill for a center in today's NBA. Frankly, it's hard not to find many situations where Turner wouldn't fit in, which can often be rare for centers. For examples, many centers that can't stretch the floor don't fit in well next to power forwards that don't do the same, and centers that don't protect the rim need to play with good perimeter defense or secondary rim protection at the forward position. Offensively, Turner spends most of his time either spotting up or acting as a pick-and-pop big. He's only a career 36% 3-point shooter, so he's not exactly someone that defenders are terrified to leave open, even though he has the ability to hit from outside. Turner can also operate as a roll man in pick-and-roll, and can finish lobs when open despite not being a great vertical athlete. He has nice touch inside, as he has shot over 70% at the rim each of the last three seasons, including a career high 76% in '21-'22, according to Cleaning the Glass. Defensively, Turner is is one of the best shot-blockers in the league, and a few years ago was in the running for Defensive Player of the Year. He has regressed a bit since then, and is still a positive defender even if he is a tier below the players that are in true consideration for All-Defense teams. The Pacers have been pretty poor defensively in the last couple seasons. That isn't all, or even primarily Turner's fault, but still is not a great sign as a defensive anchor. He's not great defending on the perimeter, but is not bad there either, which is a win for a guy that is a force inside defensively.  Turner's rebounding rates are low on both ends of the court, but part of that is due to his role offensively as he spends a lot of time outside the arc. Defensively, his rebounding rate has improved since he stopped playing next to another traditional big, but the Pacers have also often been poor in giving up offensive rebounds. Turner is still an above-average starting center, and will look to get paid like one in 2025. He will be 30 years old as a free agent, so this might be his last best chance at a big long-term contract.

Summary

Turner will be an unrestricted free agent with a $29.9 million cap hold and full Bird Rights, meaning the Pacers will have no restrictions on re-signing him. Since the Pacers will most likely be operating over the cap, and because his cap hold is likely greater than his expected starting salary, his cap hold is not really relevant. Since Turner's starting salary will most likely be above the $14.1 million Nontaxpayer Mid-Level Exception, only teams with cap space will be able to sign him. If Turner and an above-the-cap team have mutual interest, a sign-and-trade could be worked out.

Cap Considerations

Kristaps Porzingis (2 years, $60 million, 2023) Jakob Poeltl (3+1 years, $80 million, 2023) Isaiah Hartenstein (3-1 years, $87 million, 2024)

Player/Contract Comparison

Potential Teams: Pacers, Pelicans, Grizzlies, Clippers, Rockets

Predicted Contract: 4-year, $100 million with the Pacers

Last updated: 8/29/2024

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