Pacers Questioned by Rival Coach for Letting Myles Turner Join East Rival

The Indiana Pacers made the stunning move to let Myles Turner walk in free agency on Tuesday. Turner signed a four-year deal worth $107 million with the Milwaukee Bucks.

It's bad enough that Turner left Indiana for nothing. It's even worse to have him go to their biggest rival. Turner played a pivotal role in leading the Pacers to their second-ever NBA Finals appearance.

This was a decision that was shocking to a lot of people around the league. One rival coach can't believe that the Pacers allowed the Bucks to swoop in and grab him.

An anonymous assistant coach was very surprised that the Pacers didn't pay him, telling ESPN, "Why didn't they pay him?". It's a sentiment that a lot of Pacers fans have, as well.

Not re-signing Turner is clearly a product of the Tyrese Haliburton's injury. If Haliburton was going to be healthy next year, it's likely that Herb Simon was fine with the team going into the luxury tax to keep Turner.

It's also defensible if the Pacers had a backup plan in mind in case Turner didn't want to accept their offer, but it seems that they have no such plan. They just assumed he would take a hometown discount.

It has been reported that the Pacers drew a line in the sand and did not go over $22 million per year in their offer for him. Turner went out and got a better deal from the Bucks once that was known.

More Pacers news: Pacers Lose Myles Turner to East Rival in $107 Million Deal

The Pacers now have to figure out what they are going to do at that spot. They don't have many options, as most of the free-agent centers have moved on elsewhere.

Al Horford is one of the few centers left who can stretch the floor and shoot threes, but he's 38 years old. He can't play starter minutes at this point in his career.

Indiana could also pursue Deandre Ayton, whom they signed to an offer sheet when he was a restricted free agent with the Suns a few years ago.

If Ayton gets gobbled up by the Lakers, Celtics, Warriors, or another team that needs a center, they could be in real trouble.

More Indiana Pacers news: Pacers Lose Free Agent Target to East Rival in $11 Million Deal

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