Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle only needed three words to describe his thoughts on Myles Turner leaving them to join the Milwaukee Bucks on a four-year, $107 million contract this summer.
“We’ll be fine,” Carlisle said in an interview with Forbes’ Tony East, published last Tuesday.
“It’s the NBA. This kind of stuff is normal,” he continued while reflecting on the Indiana Pacers’ Cinderella run last season. “Great year, great run. Disappointing ending to the Finals. But our guys poured every last bit of everything they had into it. We’re very proud.”
The Indiana Pacers were one victory away from winning their first NBA championship, but now everything looks different for them ahead of next season because of Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles’ rupture. In the wake of Turner’s exit, Indiana re-signed James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson to new multi-year deals and traded for Jay Huff.
Indiana Pacers News: Carlisle reveals the team’s main motivation for 2025-26
The Indiana Pacers have always embraced their underdog label, which was evident during their 2025 playoff run. With Haliburton out for at least one year, Indiana is being doubted again, and head coach Rick Carlisle doesn’t mind it at all.
“We were underdogs really a massive majority of the way. People just got a real great feeling watching how our guys competed,” Carlisle said.
“It’s going to present a great opportunity in some form. I saw a thing today where they had us ranked 20th or 21st in the league going into next year. That’s good motivation. So we’ll have a chance to have a real opportunity to help develop some guys in some real quality minutes. And we’re trying to win,” he concluded.
