The Indiana Pacers face a complicated state of affairs as the NBA trade deadline approaches. They lack the necessary individual talent to build their franchise around and they have a center logjam that has been going on for three years now.
It seems the Pacers have grown to be quite reluctant to part with two-time NBA All-Star Domantas Sabonis in trade talks—making Turner far more likely to be the odd-man out. He was actually expected to be dealt prior to being sidelined due to a foot injury.
There was originally concern about Turner’s foot injury potentially being a fracture but that isn’t the case. Again, he has a stress reaction and will be able to return shortly after the NBA All-Star break in terms of a potential timetable for a return to game action.
Turner has already been doing on-court work ahead of a ramp up in his recovery efforts. The fears that some teams held about him potentially being at rest of missing a long period of time and being unavailable to help make a playoff push no longer appear to be a credible concern.
It remains to be seen how active the trade landscape will end up being involving Turner given the circumstances. One team that previously had pursued him was the Toronto Raptors and they’d be wise to circle back to get a deal done in order to make a sorely needed center upgrade.
Could the Raptors still pull off a deal to acquire Myles Turner before the NBA trade deadline passes? Let’s take a look at a potential deal that would involve that outcome.
Toronto Raptors Receive: C Myles Turner, F Justin Holiday
Indiana Pacers Receive: F/C Precious Achiuwa, Goran Dragic, 2022 First-Round Pick (Top-Five Protected), 2023 Second-Round Pick, 2025 Second Round Pick