Death, Taxes, And Myles Turner Surviving The Trade Deadline

The longest tenured Pacer stays with Indiana. Not only did Myles Turner survive another trade deadline, but Turner was able to lean into the bit of him constantly being thrown into trade rumors by posting the Survivor logo. I honestly thought he photoshopped his silhouette on there before realizing that's just the actual logo, it's meant to be, Turner is a born survivor. 

After 9 seasons with the Pacers, and Myles seemingly being involved as a bargaining chip every single one of those seasons, I'm glad Turner can laugh at his situation. It seems in the past he's gotten in his feelings on social media and fired off some cryptic tweets, but it looks like the starting center is able to not take it all so seriously. With his contract running out after this season, and limited cap space, there was a ton of speculation he'd be dealt so the Pacers didn't come up empty handed if Turner decides to leave. Everyone is looking for help at center, stretch bigs don't grow on trees, Turner could get a bag going somewhere else, but I think Turner wants to stay in Indiana long term. LA might seem lucrative, a rising team like the Pistons have unlimited cap space, but Indiana is building something and Turner knows it works for him. Turner builds legos and plays ball, he doesn't need the LA life, Indianapolis is a perfect fit.

I know Turner doesn't rebound like a traditional center should, and people call him soft for it, but does the guy posterizing people in the clip above look soft? What Turner does for spacing makes up for the lack of rebounding, and makes him someone that would be extremely hard to replace. Myles might not be a the face of the franchise, but Turner is a key piece to the Pacers making another playoff run. 

I loved that the Pacers stayed put with the guys they have on the roster. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Figure out contracts in the off season, because you don't want to ruin the chemistry. This team played the best basketball of anyone in the NBA through January. Now that the guards are healthy, and the Pacers have an actual backup center who happens to give TJ McConnell energy - this team can make a run. 

If Myles Turner survived the Sabonis trade, I think he can survive anything. A lot of players would feel slighted for being put on the chopping block, but Turner puts his head down and keeps working. So far Turner has been rewarded for his loyalty, let's just hope Turner feels like his next contract is enough to remain a Pacer because a replacement would be hard to find. But that's all a problem for the future, all that matters is right now, and right now the Pacers are proving they can win with the guys they have at the moment.