WHATEVER IT TAKES

GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner reacts against the New York Knicks during the fourth 

quarter in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 25.

What re-signing center Myles Turner could mean for the Pacers and the rest of their roster for ’26

12 Jun 2025 - The Indianapolis Star

Pacers Insider Dustin Dopirak Indianapolis Star USA TODAY NETWORK

INDIANAPOLIS – Whether the Pacers’ magical postseason run ends in either victory or defeat in the NBA Finals, they’ll immediately find themselves on the clock as soon as it ends with a window to negotiate with their starting center and longest-tenured player.

The day after the Finals, teams can begin negotiating with players who finished the season on their roster that are entering free agency. They can’t begin negotiating with free agents who began the season on other teams until 6 p.m., June 30 when the NBA calendar flips over. In the Pacers’ case this season, that means they’ll have a window with which they’ll be the only team that can negotiate with Myles Turner. Reportedly, they intend to finalize a deal so he doesn’t go anywhere else.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on NBA Countdown before ABC’s broadcast of Game 2 of the NBA Finals “the Pacers know they cannot afford to lose” Turner in free agency, and the franchise is willing to go into the luxury tax for the first time in 20 years to re-sign Turner and there is mutual interest in getting a deal done. That reporting is consistent with other reports throughout the season including from Jake Fischer of the Stein Line that rival executives do not expect Turner to be “gettable” in free agency by anyone who isn’t Indiana.

Obviously, the Pacers still have a Finals to finish and Turner, the Pacers and his agent would still have details to iron out. But if the Pacers do intend to do what it takes to keep Turner, here’s what that might mean for him, and for other Pacers players as the franchise looks into its future.

How much will Myles Turner cost and will Pacers pay luxury tax?

Turner signed a re-negotiate-andextend deal in January of 2023 that paid him a total of about $58 million over 2 1/2 seasons. The Pacers were under the salary cap so they were able to throw on about $17.1 million on to the $20 million per year he was making under the fouryear contract he signed in 2019. He’s made approximately $41 million combined over the past two seasons — a little over $20 million in 2023-24 and a little under $20 million this season — and in that time he’s helped the Pacers to two deep playoff runs after a three-year playoff absence, which gives the 29year-old a case for a raise after 10 seasons with the franchise.

Turner’s past three seasons have been among the most efficient offensive seasons of his career as playing with All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton has unlocked and enhanced much of his offensive game. He can score at all three levels — at the rim, in the mid-range and from beyond the arc — which makes him a perfect ball screen partner for Haliburton, and he can also space the floor and run to the corner when Haliburton runs ball screen actions with power forward Pascal Siakam or others.

Turner’s scoring went down a little this season to 15.6 points per game from 17.1 per game last year and 18.0 per game in 2022-23, but he made 156 3-pointers this season — by far a career-high — at a career-best 39.6% clip.

Turner isn’t quite the overwhelming rim protector he was in his early 20s when he twice led the NBA in blocked shots for a season. However, he is the Pacers’ career all-time leading shotblocker and his 2.0 blocks per game in the regular season were fifth among all NBA players and first among players who appeared in at least 65 games. His 144 total blocks in 72 games put him behind only San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama — who had 176 blocks in just 46 games — and Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez, who had 148 blocks in 80 games. In the playoffs so far, his 39 blocks lead all playoff performers and his 2.2 blocks per game put him second only to Zach Edey, who had 2.5 per game before Memphis was defeated in the first round.

All of that suggests Turner is worthy of a significant pay bump. Haliburton and Siakam — who have each been named to two All-NBA teams — are each due $45.5 million per year as max contract players and the Pacers can’t afford to pay Turner that much, but an increase to approximately $30 million per year seems reasonable and doable if the Pacers are willing to go over the luxury tax as reported.

The NBA won’t finalize its salary cap, luxury tax, and first- and second-taxapron barriers until June 30, but the sports business website Spotrac.com projects the salary cap to be at about $154.6 million, the luxury tax threshold to be about $189 million, the first-apron threshold to be about $195.9 million and the second-apron threshold to be about $207.8 million. Spending over the first and second apron not only requires teams spend more money in luxury tax but each apron also contains restrictions on trades and other player movement that make it more difficult for teams to shape their rosters.

The Pacers head into free agency with about $168 million already spoken which puts them well above the salary cap but with about $20 million under the luxury tax and about $27 million under the first apron. The Pacers might be able to shave enough salary with some small moves or by backloading Turner’s contract to stay under the first apron which allows more roster flexibility. The cap figures will continue to go up by approximately 10% each year thanks to the NBA’s new media contracts so there will be more space to fit Turner in later.

The Pacers do have to be smart about that part because Turner will likely get big offers if he hits the open market. Not many teams are under the cap with the ability to put out big-money contracts, but the Detroit Pistons are and after a thrilling loss to the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, they appear to be interested in adding big men to their roster. Turner seems set on returning to Indiana, but the Pacers still can’t risk giving him a low-ball offer because he’s aware there could be better out there.

What would re-signing Turner mean for rest of Pacers roster?

If the Pacers opt to keep Turner for about $30 million per year for 4-5 years, they will have their whole starting five locked up through at least the 2026-27 season and two of their most reliable bench players under contract through at 2027-28. After this season, Haliburton will still be under contract for four more seasons, Siakam and guard Andrew Nembhard are under contract for three more seasons and forward Aaron Nesmith is under contract for two more years. Veteran point guard T.J. McConnell is under contract for four more seasons, though not all of that is guaranteed, and forward Obi Toppin is under contract for four more seasons.

Because keeping all of them and signing Turner to a $30 million-per-year deal would not only put the Pacers over the luxury tax but near the first apron, they could look to move one of those players in something of a consolidation deal. Toppin in particularly seems to be something of a luxury item as a bench player who will make $14 million next season, $15 million the year after and $16 million the year after that. McConnell’s salary will increase from $10.2 million to $11.8 million over the life of his deal which isn’t cheap for a 33-year-old backup point guard either. However, the Pacers do seem intent on keeping as much of this core together as possible and this run has given them reason to try, and if they’re willing to spend over the luxury tax they might not have to move anyone from that core of seven players.

Re-signing Turner would tighten things up for future decisions, particular with recent lottery picks Bennedict Mathurin and Jarace Walker. Mathurin is extension eligible this summer and Walker will be extension eligible next summer.

Deciding what to offer Mathurin isn’t easy even in a vacuum as he’s averaging 15.9 points per game over his first three seasons and posted the third highest scoring season for a rookie in Pacers history and continues to prove to be one of the team’s most dynamic 1-on-1 scorers, but his fit within the Pacers’ hyperkinetic style of play has been uneasy and his defensive progress has been real but uneven. He’s averaging 10.3 points per game off the bench in the playoffs and his numbers have generally fallen since Nesmith took his place in the starting lineup.

The Pacers 2026-27 cap figure is currently about $44.8 million short of the first tax apron and $57.9 million short of the second apron according to Spotrac.com, but if Turner takes up $30 million that would mean the Pacers would likely have to keep Mathurin’s extension under $15 million per year to stay under the first apron and under $18 million per year to stay under the second. It’s easy to imagine him getting more than that from another team if he hits free agency in the summer of 2026.

The Pacers also have to decide what to do with Walker, who has had a hard time breaking into the starting lineup since being taken No. 8 in the 2023 draft. With a loaded roster last year he played in just 33 games as a rookie. This year he played in 75 in the regular season, but played just 117 playoff minutes in 12 games before an ankle sprain in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which held him out for Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals. Walker still has a season to make a case for an extension, but the Pacers are clearly in their championship window now so they might want to move him for a more veteran piece.

The Pacers have a few other things to keep in mind as well. They have two picks in the upcoming draft including a first rounder who would have a guaranteed contract at No. 23. Plus they have to decide what to do at center beyond Turner. Isaiah Jackson, who has spent all season rehabbing from an Achilles tendon tear suffered on Nov. 1, will be a restricted free agent. Thomas Bryant is an unrestricted free agent and Tony Bradley has a club option on the two-year deal he signed in March after multiple 10-day deals. The Pacers can’t keep all of those players, but they probably need to keep two of them to maintain a functional bench.

Still, keeping an anchor at center is critical to keeping the Pacers at a championship level and it’s hard to imagine them finding a better one than Turner. It’s impossible to imagine them getting one more emotionally invested in the franchise. Keeping a championship caliber roster together isn’t cheap, so the Pacers will likely have to figure out how to navigate the collective bargaining agreement landscape as a luxury tax payer.