The Indiana Pacers lost one of their key players who helped them reach the 2025 NBA Finals, as Myles Turner is reportedly set to join the Milwaukee Bucks on a four-year, $107 million contract this offseason.
Many Indiana Pacers fans and neutral pundits are dismayed by the move, including ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who feels that Turner’s departure is a huge setback for the franchise.
“If I’m an Indiana Pacer right now, I’m absolutely disgusted,” Windhorst said on First Take. “I am sick to my stomach. If I’m Tyrese Haliburton, I am breaking things right now. If I’m Rick Carlisle, I’m furious at just what’s happened because they were unwilling to spend a little bit of luxury tax money to hold this team in place for a year when Haliburton came back.”
“To go to a team that they hate. They hate the Bucks. So it’s gonna take a while to digest this. And if Giannis tweets later today a big smiling emoji and indicates that he is happy as a clam, the Bucks can declare a win, but I’m not sure the balance of power was changed in the Eastern Conference even though this was a stunning turn of events,” he added.
Myles Turner reportedly did not want to leave the Indiana Pacers
Before joining the Milwaukee Bucks, Myles Turner had expressed a desire to remain with the Indiana Pacers. However, after Milwaukee waived Damian Lillard’s contract to make room for the 29-year-old, the odds of a return were bleak since Indiana “got scared” of paying the luxury tax next season.
“Turner wanted to return to Indiana and run it back after the Finals run, but sources said Pacers offers were well below what Milwaukee came up with here. Indy hasn’t paid luxury tax since 2005. Seems they were prepared to do so to some extent, but not at this level,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne confirmed via X (formerly known as Twitter).
