It’s clear that Milwaukee Bucks center Myles Turner still isn’t completely over how his tenure with the Indiana Pacers came to an end. The Pacers drafted Turner in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft, and the two-time blocks leader played the first 10 seasons of his career with the Pacers, helping the team reach the NBA Finals in June.
But, despite his contributions to the franchise, Turner feels like the Pacers lowballed him in free agency this past summer, and that paved the way for him to sign a more lucrative deal with the Bucks.
For Turner, the fact that the Pacers organization opted not to do whatever it took to bring him back after that Finals run still stings.
"Ownership made a decision and I kind of had no choice but to roll with it," Turner said, via ESPN. "The toughest part is we were just so close to accomplishing the ultimate goal. It just feels like they gave up."
According to ESPN, Indiana never made an offer to Turner that eclipsed $22 million annually for three years. Meanwhile, the Bucks presented him with a four-year, $107 million offer. At that point, it became a simple business decision for Turner, who had become accustomed to consistently hearing his name in trade rumors throughout his tenure in Indiana.
"I've always been told when I was in trade rumors, this is a business, this is a business, this is a business," Turner said. "And that's kind of what this decision was for me. It was a business decision. It's unfortunate that it came at the time that it did, but it's a $40 million difference at the end of the day.
"[Indiana] made it very clear how they valued me," Turner added. "And so did the Milwaukee Bucks."
For what it’s worth, Pacers president Kevin Pritchard said that ownership was willing to go into the tax to keep Turner in Indiana, but it just didn’t work out that way.
"I know this: [Pacers owner] Herb Simon and [minority owner] Steven Rales and the Simon family were fully prepared to go deep into the tax to keep him," Pritchard said of the situation back in July. "And we really wanted to do that. We were negotiating in good faith. But what happens in this league is sometimes you're negotiating, but because a guy is unrestricted, he has the right to say, 'That's the offer I want. I'm going to take it, and that's best for my family."
At the end of the day, few players in the NBA get the luxury of remaining with one team throughout their entire career, and Turner won’t be joining the list of the ones who do. But after 10 years with the organization, it’s natural that he would feel salty about the split.
The good news for Turner is that he'll have ample opportunity to get on-court revenge against Indiana. As two teams in the same division, the Bucks and Pacers will face off against each other several times over the course of the season.