“Losing Myles Turner is a significant loss for our team, the guy’s a terrific player and he had a great season,” Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said this week. He was stating the obvious, but his words barely captured the shockwave that ripped through the organization when its longest-tenured player suddenly left. After ten seasons, a run to the NBA Finals, and becoming the franchise’s all-time blocks leader, the heart and soul of the team was gone. This wasn’t a trade that had been cooking for weeks; it was a stunning free agency move that nobody saw coming.
The confusion and shock weren’t just limited to Indiana; it was league-wide. As NBA insider Bret Siegel noted from the Summer League, the whole thing felt off. “Biggest takeaway from Summer League today: Lots of agents and team personnel still can’t believe Myles Turner left the Pacers. Very weird situation.”
That “weird situation” started at the very top. Pacers President Kevin Pritchard was completely blindsided, admitting he found out about Turner’s four-year, $107 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks the same way the rest of us did: from social media. “I saw Shams tweet it, and that’s how I knew that Myles was taking (the Bucks’ offer),” Pritchard told the media.
Biggest takeaway from Summer League today:
Lots of agents and team personnel still can’t believe Myles Turner left the Pacers.
Very weird situation.
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) July 11, 2025
The news was a punch in the gut. Pritchard thought he was in the middle of good-faith negotiations to bring his star center back, and he said the team’s owners were “fully prepared to go deep into the tax” to make it happen. “I was shocked,” Pritchard said again. “If I’m being perfectly honest… I thought we were kind of going back and forth in an open way… But Myles must’ve heard something in that (Bucks offer) that said, ‘I’m gonna take it right now.’”
That feeling of shock trickled right down to the locker room. Andrew Nembhard, Turner’s backcourt partner, put it plainly. “It was a little shocking when it first happened,” Nembhard said from the broadcast booth at Summer League. “Obviously, I loved my time with Myles. It was great being his teammate. He’s done a lot for me, being one of the vets. Excited to see his success over there.”
His diplomatic answer doesn’t hide the real chemistry they had. For three seasons, they were a perfect defensive pairing, with Turner locking down the paint and Nembhard hounding guards on the perimeter. Turner had even praised Nembhard’s defense, saying, “I gotta give big love to Andrew Nembhard… he’s doing an amazing job.” The respect was clearly mutual, which makes the abrupt split even more jarring.
But while some teammates were shocked, others are already embracing the new reality. The fiery Bennedict Mathurin took to Instagram and posted a picture of himself dunking on Turner in practice. It was a clear, if playful, message: things are going to be different now. With Tyrese Haliburton out for the season, Mathurin has a huge opportunity to step up. His jab at Turner shows he’s ready to lead and lean into a new rivalry with the Bucks, all while the team is still trying to figure out how its longest-tenured player just vanished.
Myles Turner’s gamble and a heartfelt goodbye
So, how did the Bucks pull off a move that stunned the league? They took a huge financial risk, using the “waive and stretch” provision on Damian Lillard’s massive contract. By spreading the $112.6 million owed to Lillard over the next five years, they took a major long-term cap hit but cleared just enough room to throw a bag at Turner.
For the Bucks, Turner is the perfect piece to pair with Giannis Antetokounmpo. He brings the elite rim protection they lost with Brook Lopez’s departure and the floor-spacing of a true stretch-five, having shot nearly 40% from three last season. But as Eric Nehm of The Athletic points out, Turner, at 29, brings a level of athleticism and pace that the 37-year-old Lopez could no longer provide. He’s able to pull off chase-down blocks and sprint to the other end for a three, all in one sequence.
Offensively, his mobility allows him to be a dynamic screener, capable of setting multiple screens in a single possession to force switches and create advantages for his teammates. Defensively, his agility allows the Bucks to be more aggressive at the point of attack, showing on guards far from the basket in a way that wasn’t possible with Lopez. It’s a move that signals to Giannis and the rest of the league that Milwaukee is still all-in on winning a championship.
Feb 3, 2021; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) and forward Domantas Sabonis (11) at the Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Nick Monroe/Handout Photo via USA TODAY Sports
Days after the shocking move, Turner finally broke his silence with a heartfelt letter to Indiana. “Saying goodbye is never easy, especially so abruptly,” he wrote.“Throughout the years, I put my personal pride & ego to the side and sacrificed many parts of myself and my livelihood for the betterment and advancement of this organization. I NEVER took the easy way out.”
His letter was a classy final gesture from a player who, by all accounts, never wanted to leave. He reminisced about the little things, from late-night spots at Kilroy’s to morning walks in Fountain Square, and thanked the fans for their unwavering support. “You’ve been loyal through it all,” he wrote. “You packed the Fieldhouse, rocked with us on the road, lifted me when I needed it most, and held me accountable when I needed that too… That’s real love.” But even as he promised that “the 317 will always be home,” his abrupt departure serves as a stark reminder of the league’s new reality—a reality where loyalty and good-faith negotiations can be upended by a single, stunning move, leaving a franchise and its fans wondering how it all went sideways, so quickly.
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