14 Comments
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Kirk's avatar

I take him at his word. He said “city”. He did not say “organization”.

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John Stieglitz's avatar

He said what he said.

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Rob C.'s avatar

It feels like to me he means the city and the team. He is a smart guy and would have chosen his words carefully. I get that Myles was a good guy and you want to defend him but he’s the one sticking his own foot in his own mouth. I appreciate what he did for the Pacers and he had every right to leave but he’s sending way more negativity this way than he ever received towards him. Yes the Pacers after looked at trading him but that was because he was one of the only trade able assets they had. His potential was often greater than his production. It wasn’t until his later years that he was finally matching potential to production. I won’t boo him but I won’t be clapping either and when the Pacers finish ahead of the Bucks this season… I won’t feel bad for Myles and his choice.

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Mark's avatar

I'll take him at his word. He could have said team, but he didn't. He said city. He's a smart man who has a team to help him with these kind of issues. I think he meant exactly what he said.

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Ken's avatar

(I should add that if he directed it at Pacers management... You mean the management that built the fans a championship contender [essentially on the fly]? Management that has filled the roster with some of the most likeable, hardworking and talented players the team has ever had? That has constructed one of the funnest and most enjoyable teams to watch in NBA history??? Yeah no, I got the team's back on this one)

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Jason's avatar

I 100% agree that the franchise put him through a lot over the course of his time with the team between various roster changes and even positional changes. The Ayton deal was the biggest slap in the face. I don't blame him at all for wanting out if he feels a lack of professional respect.

However, Myles is a smart guy. He knows his wording and how it will be received. There's no confusing 'city' with purely referring to the business side of the team.

It's like there's this weird dynamic with the sports world and Indy where the city can't have anything nice before it breaks and/or its star athletes build an endearing relationship with the fanbase only to take a heel turn like the city is a professional wrestler, a la Paul Orndorf to Hulk Hogan in my youth.

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Ken's avatar

I agree, with the caveat if the Ayton deal was such a slap in the face, Turner lost his bitching rights when he re-signed with the Pacers afterwards. Once he put his signature on the dotted line, he told his team "no hard feelings."

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Ken's avatar

Knock if off. The man can speak for himself, and until he says what you say he meant, he didn't actually say it.

Plus, the very idea that the Pacers didn't support him ... asinine. I like ya, Bob, but you're getting sentimental in your old age. It's sport, and Turner knew EXACTLY what he was doing.

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Poch de la Rosa's avatar

Thank you, Myles, for your 10 years of service in Indy. I remember seeing a breaking news story saying none of the Pacers liked an Instagram post about his signing with the Bucks. Just makes me wonder if they have any beef with him for signing with a hated division rival. We'll never know. Good luck to him in Milwaukee.

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Bob Glavan's avatar

In the end he is a Milwaukee Buck and that's a pretty significant competitor to the Pacers. I do believe Miles Turner is a decent guy (have met him a few times and watched him play at UT) who enjoyed his time in Indy. He grew up here as he was what, 19 I think, when he arrived. The Pacers and our city were fortunate to have a talented guy like him around for 10 overall productive years. That said, Miles is at the age where this contract was an important part of his livelihood long term. So given that he needs to position himself as a "Bucks guy" now and to do that involves putting the Bucks first and distancing from the Pacers. That is, in my opinion, what he is doing. My feelings are that I'll move on because he's a Buck now but I won't be a hater because Miles was a good dude here and I appreciated his contributions for those years.

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Terry Balko's avatar

I’m tired of listening to people complain about his lack of loyalty. The franchise had him on the trading block thru most of his time here. When they traded Sabonis the talk was See no one wanted Turner. More power to him. You can be assured if the Pacers had a good deal they’d trade him in a heartbeat

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Ken's avatar

You'd have a point if Turner hadn't still re-signed with the Pacers after they made a run at Ayton. Also, we don't really know to what extent he was "on the block" versus "drawing interest."

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IndyJeffrey's avatar

Agree - how can anyone be upset at him for taking the money? I know I would have taken the money myself.

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Ken's avatar

I'm not upset at him signing with another team. What I don't like are all the parting shots. If he wants to throw shade, we can throw shade, too. Simple as that.

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