Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Community Shootaround: Hield, Turner

December 26th, 2022 at 9:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Buddy Hield and Myles Turner are two of the bigger names churning through the rumor mill this season. The Pacers’ duo could potentially deliver some valuable assets in a trade, whether they’re packaged together or dealt separately.

The Pacers are at the .500 mark after losing on Monday and would qualify for the play-in tournament if the season ended today. They have two dynamic backcourt pieces in Tyrese Haliburton and Rookie of the Year candidate Bennedict Mathurin.

No one looks at Indiana as a serious contender for the Eastern Conference title. Dealing one or both of those veterans could move the Pacers closer to that eventual goal.

The longest-running rumor involving Hield and Turner is a possible trade for the Lakers’ Russell Westbrook and his expiring contract, along with Lakers’ draft picks. Turner’s name has been linked to a variety of other teams, including the Raptors, Clippers and Warriors.

The two Pacers could help a current contender in very different ways. Hield’s biggest selling point, of course, is his perimeter shooting. He’s currently second in the league in 3-pointers made, as well as percentage of points via the long ball.

Hield is signed for one more season, though his salary actually drops from approximately $21.2MM this year to $19.3MM in 2023/24.

Turner is arguably the league’s premier shot-blocker. He has led the NBA in that category twice and is currently ranked tied for third (2.1 per game). He’s also averaging career bests in points (16.2 PPG), rebounding (7.9 RPG) and 3-point shooting (41.3%).

Turner can be an unrestricted free agent after the season, though he and his reps have reportedly engaged in preliminary discussions with Indiana management regarding an extension.

That brings us to today’s question: Should the Pacers look to deal Hield and/or Turner and collect more future assets? Or should they should hold onto them, and even sign Turner to an extension?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Haliburton Serves Up Revenge Vs. Heat

December 25th, 2022 at 5:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tyrese Haliburton was held to one point the first time the Pacers faced the Heat this month. The rematch was way different, as he erupted for 43 points and set a franchise-record with 10 3-pointers on Friday. Haliburton felt he had something to prove to Miami, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star relays. “Last time we played these guys, they really had me in check,” he said. “I just had to come out here and respond the right way.”

Pacers, Myles Turner Discussing Possible Extension

December 23rd, 2022 at 1:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers and center Myles Turner have opened up discussions about a possible contract extension, league sources with knowledge of the situation tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. Those talks are believed to be in the initial stages, Charania adds.

Turner is earning $18MM in the final year of his current contract and will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer if he doesn’t sign a new deal before then.

With Domantas Sabonis no longer sharing minutes at the five in Indiana, Turner is enjoying the best season of his eight-year NBA career, averaging a career-high 16.7 points in his first 26 games (29.5 MPG). His 7.8 rebounds per game are also a career high, as are his .541 FG% and .417 3PT%. The 26-year-old has provided his usual rim protection too, blocking 2.1 shots per night.

As we explained last month, the Pacers would be limited to giving Turner a 20% starting raise (to $21.6MM) if they offered a standard contract extension. Such an offer would max out at about $97MM over four years.

However, because they’re still well below the salary cap – not to mention the salary floor – the Pacers could complete a renegotiation-and-extension, which would allow them to more than double Turner’s $18MM salary this season (to his maximum of about $37MM) and would give them the flexibility to discuss a much wider range of salary numbers in future years (including a decrease of up to 40% from his renegotiated salary).

According to Charania, Pacers officials have indeed discussed the renegotiation-and-extension framework with Turner’s agent, Austin Brown.

Although Charania says that there’s a March 1 deadline for the two sides to reach an extension, Turner will technically remain eligible to sign a new deal all the way up until June 30. However, teams aren’t permitted to renegotiate players’ current-year salaries after the last day in February. If Turner and his camp are viewing the start of March as the deadline to work something out, that presumably means they won’t entertain a new deal without a 2022/23 salary bump.

Even as they explore an extension for Turner, the Pacers are expected to keep all their options open, including a possible trade before the February 9 deadline. The Lakers and Raptors are among the teams that have shown interest in the big man in recent months, league sources tell Charania.

Turner and Buddy Hield – who has also drawn interest from rival teams this season, per Charania – are considered Indiana’s most obvious veteran trade candidates, though there’s no guarantee that either will go anywhere this season.

Illness Keeps Gabe York Out Of G League Showdown

December 22nd, 2022 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Gabe York, who plays for the Pacers‘ G League affiliate in Fort Wayne, caught another bad break this week in his quest to earn an NBA roster spot, notes Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. An illness forced York, who has been named G League Player of the Week twice this season, to miss the Mad Ants’ game at the G League Showcase in Las Vegas. York contracted COVID-19 last season when he was set to sign a 10-day contract with the Magic.

And-Ones: OT Target Score, G League, Korkmaz, Bitadze

December 21st, 2022 at 11:56am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League has been experimenting this fall with its overtime period by using a variation of the “Elam Ending,” as Kevin Pelton writes for ESPN. Instead of following up regulation with a two-minute overtime period, G League teams have played to a target score — the first team to score seven points in overtime wins the game.

The NBA has used the Elam Ending in its All-Star Game in recent years and could explore the idea of adjusting its own overtime periods if the G League experiment gets positive feedback. As Pelton notes, the idea of playing to a target score in OT holds appeal because beginning from a tie makes the concept simpler, and it could help avoid prolonged double- or triple-overtime games that result in players logging heavier minutes than teams would like.

If the NBA were to adopt an Elam Ending for overtime, it would likely have to increase its target score to about 11 points to better approximate its five-minute overtime period, Pelton adds.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Alex Kenendy of BasketballNews.com spoke to NBA G League commissioner Shareef Abdur-Rahim about several topics, including whether the league plans to experiment with any other rule changes and whether expansion to international markets besides Toronto and Mexico City is in the cards.
Following an investigation into a confrontation between Turkish and Georgian players at a EuroBasket game earlier this year, FIBA announced discipline for a handful of the players involved, including Sixers guard Furkan Korkmaz and Pacers center Goga Bitadze. Both players were fined and have been placed on a three-year probation period for international competition. If they commit a similar offense during that probation period, Bitadze would be suspended five games and Korkmaz would be suspended for three.
In an Insider-only feature for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks takes a look at the trade restrictions, trade assets, and trade targets for all 30 NBA teams.

Scotto’s Latest: Porzingis, LaVine, Trent, Pacers, Spurs

December 21st, 2022 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

Two NBA executives who spoke to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype believe that if he remains healthy and productive this season, Wizards big man Kristaps Porzingis could be in line for a three- or four-year contract worth about $30MM annually on the open market next summer. Porzingis holds a $36MM player option for 2023/24, but would likely decline that option and accept a modest pay cut next season if it meant securing a lucrative long-term deal.

With Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma both potentially on track for 2023 free agency, the Wizards may have to make some decisions in the coming weeks about their current roster’s ceiling and how committed they are to this core. The team holds Porzingis’ and Kuzma’s Bird rights, but both players would be unrestricted free agents, so Washington wouldn’t be able to fully control the process. If the Wizards are worried about losing Porzingis and/or Kuzma next summer, it would make sense to gauge their value in advance of February’s trade deadline.

According to Scotto, the Wizards believe their roster is more talented than their 12-20 record suggests and are hoping to get an extended look at a fully healthy group before making any decisions about personnel changes.

Here’s more from Scotto:

The Bulls, Raptors, and Wizards are among the teams being monitored closely by rivals in case they pivot to selling. Multiple clubs, including the Knicks, are keeping a close eye in particular on Bulls guard Zach LaVine, says Scotto. LaVine has reportedly not seen eye-to-eye with the organization this season after signing a five-year, maximum-salary contract in July.
Multiple NBA executives who spoke to Scotto at this week’s G League Showcase “unanimously” consider Gary Trent Jr. the Raptors‘ most likely trade candidate. Trent is widely expected to turn down his 2023/24 player option (worth $18.8MM) and seek a multiyear deal. Two executives told Scotto they think Trent can get $20MM+ per year as a free agent, and there’s skepticism around the NBA that Toronto will want to retain him at a price exceeding $20MM annually.
With the Pacers and Spurs still well below the salary floor, multiple executives believe the two clubs will be on the lookout for opportunities to take on unwanted contracts – along with draft compensation – at this season’s deadline, per Scotto.

Terry Taylor To Play Some G League Games

December 19th, 2022 at 10:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pacers forward Terry Taylor will play with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in their two games this week at the G League Showcase, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Taylor will get some much-needed playing time. The second-year player hasn’t appeared at all in the past five games for Indiana and has only seen seven total minutes of action in December.

Chris Duarte On Verge Of Return

December 17th, 2022 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Pacers wing Chris Duarte, sidelined since November 4 due to ankle sprain, appears to be on the verge of returning to action at the NBA level. Duarte has played two games with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the G League as part of his rehab and could be back with the Pacers in time for Sunday’s contest vs. New York, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

Former Pacer Louis Orr Passes Away At 64

December 16th, 2022 at 7:41pm CST by Rory Maher

Louis Orr, an eight-year NBA veteran with the Pacers and Knicks, has passed away at age 64, according to The Associated Press. Orr averaged 9.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in his career from 1980-88, including six seasons with New York. He had a lengthy college and international coaching career after his playing days ended. We at Hoops Rumors send our condolences to his family and friends.

Bennedict Mathurin Determined To "Be Great"

December 16th, 2022 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

Bob Kravitz of The Athletic profiles Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin, who says he feels like he has “no choice but to be great” due to his desire to provide for his family and influence kids in his hometown of Montreal. The No. 6 overall pick is off to a good start in his quest to become a star, having averaged 17.8 points in his first 29 NBA games.