Jun 22, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle looks on during the second half of game seven of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle Gets Candid About Myles Turner's Free Agent Departure

Originally posted on Indianapolis Pacers on SI
By Jason Fray | Last updated Aug 19, 2025 11:00 AM ET

Rick Carlisle has his work cut out for him heading into this year.

The reigning Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers will have to replace all-everything guard Tyrese Haliburton as he recovers from a torn Achilles. Much of the rest of the team remains intact — though the center position did have an overhaul due to a move that truly came out of left field.

The Fan Morning Show had Carlisle on as a guest. For nearly 30 minutes , Carlisle riffed about the team and the offseason as a whole. When the subject of Myles Turner leaving the team came up, Carlisle was asked if he was shocked by the departure.

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"Yeah, I was surprised. I was surprised. But, it's pretty clear what happened. Milwaukee found a way to come up with enough cap space in a very short period of time. It's my guess that they did all of this by waiving [Damian] Lillard and stretching him and all that sorta stuff that created $20 million extra in space. I think what happened was they talked to Myles' agent/Myles and his agent and said 'Look, we have this offer. This is a number that you guys are trying to get to. We need to know that if we offer this, you guys are going to take it.' That's a frequent tactic of negotiations. Pretty clearly, they took the offer — it's their right to do it."

Carlisle elaborated further on what Turner brought to the organization when he was with the Pacers. There certainly seems to be plenty of respect between the head coach and his former player.

"We'll certainly miss Myles. There was a lot of talk about some of the the things that he said as he left. But, we're going to give Myles the benefit of the doubt on all of that stuff. The guy was a Pacer through and through for 10 years. He lived and breathed it. He disregarded trade rumors when they happened. He was all about Indiana all the time. This franchise was ready to go as far into the tax as we needed to to keep him. But things can change quickly. He's moved on. He's a division rival."

As Carlisle spoke about, with Turner now in Milwaukee, the center position will likely include a rotation of players — starting with acquisition Jay Huff. Knowing Carlisle's history with big men, there's most certainly a scenario where the production from the five spot may be relatively the same compared to when Turner was patrolling the paint.