Myles Turner Reportedly Joins Giannis, Bucks on $107M Contract After Pacers Exit

After being a regular source of trade speculation over the years, Myles Turner is finally no longer a member of the Indiana Pacers.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported the the veteran center agreed to a four-year, $107 million million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.

In a more stunning turn, Charania reported the Bucks are using the stretch provision to waive nine-time All-Star Damian Lillard.

The departure of Lillard, who's recovering from a torn Achilles, gave Milwaukee the room financially to sign Turner. He'll count for $22.5 million against the salary cap in each of the next five years.

Turner completed a decade of service time in Indianapolis in 2024-25. He averaged 15.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 72 appearances for the Pacers. His three-point percentage (39.6) was also a career high.

Throughout his tenure, the idea that Indiana might deal the two-time block champion has become such a prevalent theme for the team he joked on social media about making it through the 2025 trade deadline unscathed:

During a February appearance on the Setting the Pace podcast (via the Indianapolis Star's Nat Newell), Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan pushed back against the idea the team was furiously shopping Turner around. He described the discourse around around that time as "almost comical."

"We've all seen how Myles fits with this group," Buchanan said. "His uniqueness in being able to stretch the floor which gives space to everybody, especially Tyrese (Haliburton) and Pascal (Siakam). It's hard to find a guy who fits better than Myles. That's why we've kept him for so long. We value what he does and who he is as a human being."

By March, ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported the Pacers "absolutely want to keep Turner" as he approached free agency, though the NBA insider pointed to their salary cap situation.

Haliburton and Siakam already combine to count for $90 million in 2025-26, while supporting player Andrew Nembhard, Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith and T.J. McConnell have eight-figure salaries. Penciling in Turner for a raise on his $19.9 million payout from last year sent the payroll climbing.

Windhorst noted staying under the luxury tax has been a consistent feature for the Pacers. They last exceeded the tax line in 2005.

Ultimately, it won't make sense for the team to pay Haliburton and Siakam max contracts, only to still be fixated on the luxury tax. While it's important to avoid the second apron, exceeding the salary cap is basically the cost of doing business if you have championship aspirations.

The question Buchanan had to ask was whether re-signing Turner was the best use of the Pacers' increasingly limited flexibility.

When the franchise is already over the cap, it's not as though Buchanan can turn around and sign a free agent who's as good or better than Turner. Staying comfortably under the second tax apron does at least give him a pathway to strengthening the squad through a big trade.

The Bucks don't have that kind of luxury given the urgency they face.

Charania reported in May that Giannis Antetokounmpo "is open-minded about exploring whether his best long-term fit is remaining in Milwaukee or playing elsewhere."

The two-time MVP hasn't requested a trade, but this is probably the closest he has ever come to doing so with the Bucks.

Between that and Brook Lopez reportedly bolting for the Los Angeles Clippers, general manager Jon Horst needed to make an impact addition at center. Signing Turner does just that, and getting the best big on the market is a sign of continued ambition from the organization.