3 teams who could trade for Myles Turner after Deandre Ayton offer sheet

1. Chicago Bulls trade for Myles Turner

Tyrese Haliburton, the new star of the long-term show for the Indiana Pacers, isn’t necessarily interested in being part of a long-term rebuild. The same can be said of Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle, who is used to being in the postseason mix himself. Acquiring a Clint Capela or John Collins does that a bit more effectively than Steven Adams, but if Indy really wanted to make a veteran splash they’d do so by acquiring a two-time All-Star that could carry more of a load as a scorer than he was asked to this past season.

Nikola Vucevic took a back seat to the remarkable renaissance of DeMar DeRozan and the continued strength of Zach LaVine in Chicago in 2021-22, seeing his lowest points per game numbers while still logging more than 30 minutes per contest since the 2017-18 season. That’s not to say he wasn’t as good — his overall shooting accuracy remained similar to what he has done in the past, at least inside the 3-point line. But his usage rate was down to 24.5 percent, his lowest since 2014.

The Bulls didn’t need him to be a scorer, and his opportunities went down because of it. The Pacers could use the Orlando Magic Vucevic more than Chicago at this state of their respective processes, and the Bulls could maximize what Myles Turner does well as a shot blocker and shooter from range alongside two offensive creators like LaVine and DeRozan.

Beyond a Turner for Vucevic swap, limited assets probably would be needed. Turner is younger and has an expiring contract that Chicago could either re-sign (perhaps for a bit less than Vucevic, helping save some money for the Bulls) and Vucevic is the better/more durable player. Perhaps Indiana includes a first they received from the Boston deal to even things out some, but a trade like this is more about recognizing your own flaws as a roster and being able to rectify that in a deal.

Chicago in theory gets better defensively while gaining financial flexibility. Indiana gains a solid No. 2 man next to Haliburton without losing any other members of their roster or the capacity to do future dealings. It checks out on both ends.