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The Pacers have signed this year’s No. 11 overall pick, Myles Turner, to his rookie scale contract, the team announced. The big man from Texas in line for a salary of nearly $2.358MM this season, with almost $10.802MM coming over the four-year span of the contract, presuming he signed for the standard 120% of the rookie scale.
A lack of eye-popping offensive numbers, including a scoring average of 10.1 points per game, and an awkward running style cloud Turner’s future, though his gait is apparently correctable. The 7-footer has shown impressive shooting range and played strong defense in his lone college season, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors wrote when he examined Turner’s prospect profile.
The Pacers traded Roy Hibbert and David West opted out and committed to the Spurs, so Indiana has room for fresh blood inside even as the team transitions to a more perimeter-oriented attack. Turner figures to compete for minutes with soon-to-be signee Jordan Hill, among others. It’s unclear just how much flexibility Indiana has, with the terms of Hill’s deal still unknown, but Turner’s signing, which raises his cap hit by nearly $400K, signals that the Pacers are done with major free agent deals this summer.