Pacers have unique incentive to sign Myles Turner to extension

The Pacers are having a surprisingly successful season — despite dealing veterans Domantas Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon and Caris Levert in the past year. Turner and Buddy Hield are the team's two veteran holdovers, which makes them natural trade candidates. The Lakers have been rumored to have interest in the pair since the summer — Hield since summer of 2021 — and even Turner said the Lakers should trade for him.

What changed? First, Turner has thrived playing his natural center position, alongside the Pacers' young guards, Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin. He was relegated to playing the 4 when Sabonis was on the roster, but at the 5, he's averaging 16.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game while shooting a career-high 54.3 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from three-point range.

Second, the Lakers' 13-20 record. They've lost four straight and eight of their last 11, even with LeBron James scoring more than 30 points in seven straight games. With every loss, they become less likely to part with a future draft pick to add Turner.

The biggest incentive to extend Turner is the Pacers' unique cap situation, caused by their failed pursuit of a different center, Phoenix's DeAndre Ayton. When the Suns matched the Pacers' offer sheet, they were left with a whopping $24 million in salary-cap space. Because Turner is under contract this season for $18 million, Indiana can give him a new contract that includes a sizable raise this season — up to Turner's maximum, which would be $37.1 million.

Why would they do this? They could start the remainder of Turner's contract at 40 percent below the renegotiated level and then reduce those salaries by 8 percent per year. Say the Pacers bumped Turner's salary up to $37 million. Turner could get a new contract starting at $22.2 million in 2023-24 and decline each year, all the way to around $17 million in the final year.

Turner would effectively get a deal in the range of four years and $95 million, but he'd get 20 percent up front, and his cap hit would decline every year. A cost-controlled, sweet-shooting center like Turner — especially with the salary cap rising — could be far more valuable than a 2029 first-round pick.