The Indiana Pacers surprised the NBA community when reports saw the light suggesting they’re angling towards a rebuild.
Domantas Sabonis, Caris LeVert, and Myles Turner could be living their last days with the team since their recent struggles might lead the front office to start a rebuilding process and focus on the young guys on the roster.
Even Rick Carlisle admitted they are ‘communicating’ with these players trying to find the best solution to the rocky start to the season. The Pacers, though, won’t start a long rebuilding since that would be counterproductive for them and their fans. That’s why they’re looking to add interesting pieces via trade while giving their stars new opportunities on different teams.
Myles Turner doesn’t seem to be so happy with the situation and recently fired some shots at his team. Claiming he’s seen as a ‘glorified role player,’ Turner has asked for a new chance to showcase his talent.
Via Jared Weiss of The Athletic:
“It’s clear that I’m not valued as anything more than a glorified role player here, and I want something more, more opportunity,” Turner told. “I’m trying really hard to make the role that I’m given here work and find a way to maximize it. I’ve been trying to the past two, three seasons. But it’s clear to me that, just numbers-wise, I’m not valued as more than a rotational role player, and I hold myself in a higher regard than that.”
He’s in his seventh season, yet still somehow just 25. He’s put the skill set together over those years, morphed into one of the league’s best defenders, and tried to be whatever the Pacers needed from him. Now he is trying to figure out how to seize this moment and make the leap to the all-star class of the league. But he feels he can’t do it on just 8.8 shots per game.
“I’ve been given many roles in the years that I’ve been here, and I feel like I’ve been able to produce at a high level in the roles I’ve been given,” Turner said. “I’ve shown that I can do the things they ask me to do, and I think it’s time to put that all together and be a more prominent night-in, night-out guy on the offensive side of the ball instead of someone who is asked to be a floor spacer and hide in the shadows.”
Turner is ready to take his game to the next level, but he’s not convinced that can happen in Indiana. The big man is a floor spacer, as he said, and that’s a very valuable tool in the league. He’s a decent defender, too, so Myles won’t miss offers if the Pacers put him on the trade block.
His fit with Domantas Sabonis hasn’t been the best and that could prompt his exit from the team, too. The Golden State Warriors were named as a possible candidate to land Turner, but time will tell how this situation plays out.
