The Pacers‘ ability to use their remaining cap room as part of Myles Turner‘s extension makes the deal extremely team-friendly over the next two seasons, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.
Turner will receive an extra $17.1M for the current season as part of a renegotiation that adds two years to his contract. Dopirak notes that he will earn $21M in 2023/24, which is less than 16% of a projected $134M salary cap. Turner will take up an even smaller percentage of the cap in 2024-25, when his salary declines to $20M. As Dopirak points out, that’s significant because 2024-25 will be the first year of Tyrese Haliburton‘s expected extension.
Turner is putting up career numbers this season, which has coincided with his full-time move back to center after Domantas Sabonis was traded to the Kings at last year’s deadline.
“He’s been itching to play the five,” lead assistant coach Lloyd Pierce said. “What that means and what it does is it puts him into the action in terms of setting screens, being in trail, reversing the ball through him. Any player knows when they get to touch the basketball, whether they’re shooting it, passing it or just reversing it, it just engages their mind a little bit.
“We’re seeing him finish at the rim. We’re seeing him get more shots at the rim this year. We’re seeing him make a concerted effort to get offensive rebounds, especially against teams that switch and he’s got a smaller guy on him. But I think he’s embracing the role. I think he’s embracing the physical nature that we need from him.”
Here’s more on Turner’s renegotiation and extension with the Pacers:
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
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