Pacers C Myles Turner, a popular trade target, reportedly agrees to 2-year, $60 million extension
Myles Turner has a new contract with the Indiana Pacers, but that doesn't mean he's officially off the trade market.
The Pacers big man has agreed to a two-year, $60 million contract extension, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal will reportedly see Turner receiving an extra $17.1 million this season, the largest in-season salary renegotiation in NBA history.
Turner had been a pending unrestricted free agent after agreeing to a four-year $72 million deal in 2018, but is now signed through the 2024-25 season.
Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner has agreed on a two-year, $60M contract extension that includes an additional $17.1M renegotiation on his 2022-2023 salary, his agent Austin Brown of CAA Sports tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/17nSSwN14z
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2023
Contract extensions typically throw cold water on any trade rumors concerning a player, but ESPN's Bobby Marks notes Turner's new deal, which will pay him $21 million for the 2023-24 season and $20 million for 2024-25, leaves him still eligible to be traded by the NBA's Feb. 9 trade deadline.
The deal still makes trading for Turner more difficult and expensive, so it's more likely the Pacers continue to see him as a member of their core alongside Tyrese Haliburton and rookie Bennedict Mathurin.
The 24-27 Pacers appeared on track for a full rebuild given their distance from the Eastern Conference elite in terms of record and star power, especially with Turner's contract expiring after this season and Buddy Hield's after next season.
That meant plenty of interest in Turner. One proposed trade would have sent Turner and Hield to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Russell Westbrook and draft picks.
The 26-year-old Turner is currently averaging career highs in points per game (17.5), rebounds per game (7.9), field goal percentage (.544) and 3-point percentage (.391) while contributing his usual strong interior defense, ranking third in the NBA in blocks per game (2.4) and block percentage (7.1).