The Indiana Pacers and star center Myles Turner have agreed to a massive two-year contract extension that will pay him $60 million over the duration of the deal, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
That deal will also include an NBA-record $17.1 renegotiation to his 2022-23 salary.
It is a significant deal for the Pacers because Turner had been a popular name in trade speculation ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline in the event that contract negotiations fell apart. Obviously, that did not happen, and he should be staying in Indiana for the foreseeable future.
That means the Pacers now have a core of Turner and Tyrese Haliburton to build around.
Turner has played his entire career with the Pacers since being selected with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2015 draft. During his eight-year career, he has developed into one of the NBA’s top big men.
In 42 games this season, he is averaging 17.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, while also blocking 2.4 shots per game.
Entering play on Saturday, the Pacers were in ninth place in the Eastern Conference with a 24-27 record. That would have them in the play-in portion of the playoffs. They are only a half-game ahead of Washington (10th place) and Chicago (11th place) in the playoff race.
