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[Saba Sports News] The Indiana Pacers have been one of the hottest teams in the postseason, and Myles Turner has played a major role in their run to the NBA Finals. Despite being a regular name in trade rumors for years, Turner has remained in Indiana—and now, for the first time, he’ll get to decide his own future as he enters free agency.
Several teams are expected to express interest, and the Detroit Pistons are among them, according to Jake Fischer.
“The Pistons stand behind Brooklyn as the only apparent free agent bidder this summer,” Fischer wrote. “Detroit has the wiggle room to create roughly $17 million in cap space depending on the roster path it chooses … or the Pistons could opt to focus on further trades. So they’ve been linked to multiple pick-and-pop, floor-spacing centers. Are the Pistons just being used as a stalking horse? Make no mistake: Most NBA teams are projecting Turner, Reid, and Aldama to all return to their incumbent teams.”
Marc Stein also reported Detroit’s interest in Turner but noted that it may be difficult to pry him away, as he’s widely expected to re-sign with the Pacers. Given Indiana’s recent success, the Pistons may need to put together a compelling offer to have any real shot.
They do have the flexibility to clear cap space and offer Turner a deal that matches his reported $30 million annual value. But if that pursuit falls short, Detroit may pivot to other options.
One such alternative is Timberwolves big man Naz Reid.
“Reid has a $15 million player option for next season that he must exercise or decline by June 29,” Stein noted in The Stein Line. “Minnesota has made it clear they want to keep him, and there’s another hurdle for Detroit: Even if Reid hits the open market, the Pistons won’t have much cap room to pursue him if they also plan to re-sign Malik Beasley and/or Dennis Schröder. (Tim Hardaway Jr. is another Pistons free agent-to-be.)”
The Pistons are clearly targeting a floor-spacing center, and it remains to be seen whether they can maneuver their roster and cap space to land one. With multiple moving pieces and several teams in the mix, Detroit faces a challenging—but not impossible—path this offseason.