Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner is a free agent this summer, one who will have a very healthy market and is expected to receive a handsome raise from his current salary ($19.9 million).
Yet while that truth would typically compel a player of his caliber to be focused on his next place of employment this time of year, Turner, as it so happens, is a free-agent-to-be whose team is playing in the NBA Finals. As such, he’s not in the mood to discuss what might happen after this season.
Not yet, anyways.
I spoke with Turner about this dynamic briefly on Tuesday, when he was nice enough to do a walk-and-talk between scheduled media appearances. Here is our exchange.
Q: I know it’s not where your head is at, but has anybody asked you about your updated perspective on your free agency situation in light of what you all accomplished here?
A: They’ve tried.
Q: Ok, so what is your messaging there?
A: It’s gonna be the same cookie cutter answer, Sam. I’m not going to lie to you. It’s gonna be the whole ‘I’m gonna focus on the Finals, and when that gets here, it gets here’ (statement). So, yeah…
Q: I guess my curiosity was – and this is a really good problem to have – but you went from this time in the past when the question was, ‘Is he the right fit (with the Pacers)?’ to ‘ Oh boy, can they keep him?’ And now your market elsewhere has continued to get better. I guess I’ll make it more personal: Are you proud of yourself for having continued to improve, and continued to chip away to this place where you have carved out your space in this city and in this league?
A: Yeah, of course. It’s a favorable position to be in. But at the same time, the future is unwritten, so I’m just taking it day by day to process, and I’m enjoying it.