Two-time All-NBA Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton has broken his silence on longtime starting center Myles Turner’s free agency departure.
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Following a 10-year run with Indiana that culminated in a seven-game NBA Finals series against the Oklahoma City Thunder this summer, the 3-and-D big man ditched the Pacers in exchange for a four-year, $108.9 million deal with Central Division rival the Milwaukee Bucks.
Haliburton on Turner departing for MIL:
“I think that people have really taken a liking to Myles. He’s done some great things, been a part of some great groups. But at the end of the day, it is a business. He’s got to do what’s best for him and I wish him the best moving…
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) July 22, 2025
“I think that people have really taken a liking to Myles,” Haliburton said during a Tuesday interview on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” (hat tip to Scott Agness of The Fieldhouse Files for the transcription).
This spring, the 29-year-old Turner absolutely walloped his Bucks counterpart Brook Lopez during a five-game first round playoff series victory. Lopez, 37, lacked the mobility or athleticism to cover Turner in space. When Lopez signed a two-season, $18 million free agent agreement this summer with the L.A. Clippers to back up starter Ivica Zubac, that left a gaping hole at the five spot for Milwaukee.
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The Bucks didn’t have significant cap space to sign anyone, and seemed to be in serious jeopardy of losing out on nine-time All-NBA power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo to a trade demand. Instead, Milwaukee team president Jon Horst opted to stretch-and-waive injured nine-time All-Star point guard Damian Lillard, thus opening up cap space to sign Turner.
“He’s done some great things, been a part of some great groups,” Haliburton added of Turner, who had been Indiana’s longest-tenured player before his exit. “But at the end of the day, it is a business. He’s got to do what’s best for him and I wish him the best moving forward. My focus is now on the guys that we have here.”
Haliburton, who is himself out for the season after tearing his Achilles in Game 7 of the Finals, will now be partnered with a piecemeal assortment of replacement centers. Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman, both of whom tore their own Achilles tendons very early into the 2024-25 season, have re-signed with Indiana this summer. The Pacers also traded for floor-spacing big man Jay Huff.
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