3 days ago
"Big old soft a– want to shoot all the goddamn 3s" - Vernon Maxwell says Myles Turner was a good riddance for the Pacers
"Big old soft a– want to shoot all the goddamn 3s" - Vernon Maxwell says Myles Turner was a good riddance for the Pacers originally appeared on Basketball Network.
The Indiana Pacers lost their starting center, Myles Turner, when the 29-year-old signed a four-year $107 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency.
Turner was Indiana's 11th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and was the longest-tenured player on the Pacers' 2025 Eastern Conference championship team. However, after Indy allegedly low-balled him during contract negotiations, Myles departed quickly, leaving a huge hole to fill for team president Kevin Pritchard.
However, according to former NBA player Vernon Maxwell, letting Turner walk away was good for the Pacers.
"I like the damn trade with Myles Turner," said Mad Max on the "All the Smoke Unplugged" podcast. "Big old soft a– want to shoot all the goddamn 3's. I like that trade for Myles Turner. F–k that s–t. That big old soft motherfu—r want to shoot all the gooddamn 3's man. Get our a– on the block, man. Hopefully, he'll put his a– on the block over there."
48.6 percent of Turner's shots in 2024-25 were 3-pointers
Turner has always been criticized for playing on the perimeter too much. Although he posted career highs with 2.2 3-pointers made at 39.6 percent this past season, Myles is a 6'11" center who averaged just 6.5 rebounds per game, including just 1.3 offensive rebounds, during the 2024-25 season.
Although you can argue that every team has different dynamics and that we're in the 3-point era of basketball, the Pacers ranked next to last in the league in offensive rebounds at just 9.2 per game and dead last in second-chance points at just 11.2 per night.
To his credit, Myles has been a very good rim protector, with a career average of 2.0 blocks per game. However, after leading the league with 3.4 blocks per game in 2021, his blocks have gone down while his 3-point shooting has gone up. Last season, 48.6 percent of Turner's shots taken were three-pointers.
"You're bigger than everyone on the court, and you're keeping yourself on the perimeter the whole time. I don't mind the perimeter, but mix it in. I mean, you mix it in the block and take advantage of that, but that's crazy. You said it best, Max," added Matt 3-point shooting was big in the playoffs
For all the criticism of his game, Turner is just playing the role asked of him on the team. Being a floor-spacing big man, he can draw the opposing team's big man away from the basket, making it easier for guys like Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, and Benedict Mathurin to penetrate.
Myles' 3-point shooting also came in handy for the Pacers in the 2025 Playoffs, especially against the No.1. seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. Turner shot 4-4 from downtown in a blowout Game 4 win, and then in the next game, he hit the dagger triple that sealed the series win for the Pacers.
However, even if we say Mad Max is correct, it was not a trade as he mentioned. The Pacers lost Turner without getting anyone in return, which is probably what hurts than losing Myles, per se.
To make up for Turner's departure, the Pacers traded for 7'1" Jay Huff from the Memphis Grizzlies. Curiously, Huff takes more 3's than Turner, as he averaged 3.1 3-point attempts per game in just 11.7 minutes of playing time. So yeah, perhaps Turner living in the perimeter was part of the Pacers' game plan, not Myles' story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
