The Pacers were willing to go into the tax for Turner -- but not THAT deep; now he's with the Milwaukee Bucks

I guess you can say the Pacers low-balled Turner. Certainly, the Bucks outbid them by a healthy margin. Now it's time for Kevin Pritchard to get back to work.

The day after Myles Turner left Indiana and signed with Milwaukee, there’s no way to soft-sell the shock and the disappointment. Turner was the longest tenured Pacer, a great representative of the organization, a solid performer both as a stretch 5 and a rim protector. And they lost him for nothing in return. All those years of trade rumors, days when we were convinced he was on his way out of Indy, then comes this day when we were all sure he would return to Indiana…and he bolts.

Crazy.

The bottom line is this: The Pacers got outbid. They got outbid by a significant margin. According to a source, the Pacers were willing to offer 3- and 4-year deals for more than $20 million per year. The Bucks, who waived Damian Lillard and stretched his salary, came in at four years, $107. Turner desperately was hoping to make $30 million a year, but nobody was biting. Still, he’s got a chance to make more money, play with Giannis Antetokounmpo (presumably) and play for a team that now has some hope in a wide-open Eastern Conference.

And people on my X timeline are calling him greedy?

Please.

Why would Turner give the Pacers a hometown discount? This is the same team that’s been on the cusp of trading him throughout his career. This is the same team that extended an offer sheet to fellow center Deandre Ayton, a clear slap in the face to Turner. It’s to Turner’s everlasting credit that he remained professional and has had his very best years while working with Tyrese Haliburton. (I’ll be very curious to see how Turner plays when he doesn’t have Haliburton by his side. Turner’s numbers with and without Haliburton on the floor are strikingly different.)