Pacers Linked to Perfect Myles Turner Replacement

The Indiana Pacers have kept Myles Turner for his entire NBA career. Despite the fact that there have been trade rumors following him for what seems like half of his career, he's stayed in Indiana.

This summer, he will become a free agent for the first time in his career. This will be the first time that he can look around and see if another team wants him more than Indiana.

There have been reports that the Pacers will go into the luxury tax to re-sign Turner and bring him back. It would be the first time they've paid the luxury tax in 20 years.

The Indiana Pacers would have the perfect Myles Turner replacement if he signs elsewhere

While both sides have a mutual interest in reuniting for years to come, negotiations could still break down. If that happens, the Pacers have bee linked to a perfect replacement for him.

Bleacher Report has Dereck Lively II as a possible trade target for the Pacers if they can't get Turner to come back. He would fit the Pacers perfectly if they can't bring back Turner.

Lively is someone who can catch a lot of lobs and grab a lot of rebounds, something that the Pacers struggle with. He would make them a better defensive team.

The Mavericks also have a logjam of big men now that they have Anthony Davis on the roster. That could make them inclined to move one of their guys to open up some room.

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The top option for the Pacers would be to bring Turner back. If they have to go into the luxury tax to do it, they seem willing to do so. They know how valuable he is to the team.

With the Pacers a couple of games away from winning an NBA championship, they want to keep that core together as long as possible. Turner is key to that core, especially with what he does defensively.

So far this postseason, Turner is averaging 14.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. He averaged 50.8 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from three.

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