Coming into the offseason, Myles Turner re-signing with the Indiana Pacers looked like a done deal until another team swooped in.
The Milwaukee Bucks stole all the headlines on the second day of free agency when they agreed to a four-year, $107 million deal with Turner. Of course, the big man had spent the first 10 seasons of his career in Indiana and was the starting center on the Pacers’ run to the NBA Finals.
Although the general consensus was that Turner took the deal in Milwaukee because the Pacers were unwilling to offer him a bigger deal, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle thinks it goes a bit deeper than that.
Rick Carlisle on Myles Turner unexpectedly leaving to sign with Milwaukee
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“I think what probably happened, and this is part of negotiation in any sport,” Carlisle said. “A team will say, ‘Hey, look, we have this offer. It’s this much over this many years, but if we make this offer, we need to know that you’re gonna take it and not shop it.”
That theory makes sense from the Bucks' side of things. Considering how badly Milwaukee wanted to add Turner, it wouldn’t be surprising if the franchise didn’t allow the former Pacer to field a counteroffer from his old team.
That theory also tracks with everything the Pacers have said thus far about being blindsided by the news of Turner leaving. In any case, the Pacers will miss Turner going into next season, but for Carlisle and company, there is still plenty to be excited about in Indiana over the next few years.