The Indiana Pacers have made it to the finals of the inaugural In-Season tournament of the NBA on December 7, 2023. After recording a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks 128-119, Myles Turner and Co. are up against the Los Angeles Lakers on December 9, 2023.
The big man of the Indiana Pacers scored 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 assists, sustaining the two-game winning streak for the franchise. An elite shot blocker and an A-level rebounder showcased his skills when he dunk over Giannis Antetokounmpo against the Bucks. His defensive gameplay indeed makes him an asset for the Pacers.
MYLES TURNER TWO-HANDED POSTER ON GIANNIS 😤
(via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/C2AzuCCMVg
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 7, 2023
The double-double scored by the center in the last game sparked curiosity about his contract with the Pacers. It’s an open secret that renegotiation and extension deals are a blue moon in the league. However, a skilled rebounder like Myles Christian Turner received a 2-year contract extension from the Pacers in the 2023–24 season.
Myles Turner is earning $20,975,000 in the 2023–24 season
The Indiana Pacers had a salary cap of approximately $27 million, and Turner took advantage of this fact after completing the first three years of his four-year deal with the franchise. The blue and gold boosted the player’s salary for the 2023–24 season to the maximum and signed a contract worth $40,903,500 for two years.
Including the guaranteed amount of $40,903,500 at signing, the big man will receive an average salary of $20,451,750 in the 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons. The Pacers, however, cracked the code to this deal, and in exchange for adding more season to his contract, they are permitted to drop the renegotiated salaries by approximately 40% in the next season.
Imagine if I ain’t been out for 6 weeks 😮💨 https://t.co/zVVWspShGL
— Myles Turner (@Original_Turner) February 24, 2022
The 27-year-old center presents a very lucrative opportunity for the team, as they can now keep him on a fair, tradeable deal going forward. The player will be back on the market in the summer of 2025, after hitting 29 on his birthday calendar.
While the two-time NBA block leader gets to stay with the team that drafted him back in 2025, the Pacers have locked in premium talent under the contract. There’s another angle to the deal. The trio of Myles Turner, Tyrese Haliburton, and Bennedict Mathurin can boost the ranking of the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference and can help achieve much more.