The Indiana Pacers remain in a situation where making a trade involving one of the centers—Myles Turner or Domantas Sabonis—is the most logical option long-term. Injuries to both players as the NBA trade deadline approaches has complicated the situation in the immediate future.
According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, the Portland Trail Blazers and Indiana Pacers shared ‘strong momentum’ in trade discussions surrounding Myles Turner before he suffered the stress reaction in his foot.
Before Myles Turner sustained a stress reaction in his left foot, league personnel were pointing to the Pacers center as perhaps the first big domino to fall this trade window. There was strong momentum in conversations between Indiana and Portland, sources said, yet there’s dwindling confidence from league personnel about Turner’s injury timeline and his ability to help a potential new team’s playoff push this season.
Some of the absolute worst defense in the NBA is played by the Trail Blazers on a nightly basis. They have Jusuf Nurkic, who isn’t equipped athletically to handle it, out there hedging, playing at the level, switching, and just doing it all looking like a pure liability. Their aggressive scheme has nowhere near the appropriate personnel to run it.
An elite rim protector like Myles Turner would at least give the Trail Blazers a semblance of an idea of how to field a half-court defense. Nurkic isn’t a rim protector and he isn’t one of those versatile options that can guard out in space, so they suffer from lacking an identity.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS:: Myles Turner To Be Re-Evaluated In Two Weeks; Impact On Trades
With the Trail Blazers seemingly finding their way back into the play-in picture, the hope still remains that Damian Lillard will be able to return. The competition for that final play-in spot is weakening with the Trail Blazers still having won six of their last 10 games despite riding a two-game losing streak.
The severity of Myles Turner’s foot injury has yet to be determined but he has been doing on-court work—offering a favorable sign to prospective suitors. It seems more likely that it’s a week-to-week issue that keeps him out through the All-Star break, but may not be limiting much beyond that for a timetable.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS:: Myles Turner To Be Re-Evaluated In Two Weeks; Impact On Trades
A financial obstacle of trading for Myles Turner from the Trail Blazers’ perspective is that 2022-23 is the final season of his current contract, then he will need a new deal. The limiting nature of the Portland Trail Blazers’ salary cap table would make it challenging to give him a raise from the $18 million average annual salary he receives.
