NBA trade rumors: Indiana Pacers open to trading Myles Turner

What's the rumor?

The Indiana Pacers have made an 18-9 start to the season, and appear to be in a strong position as Victor Oladipo closes on his much-anticipated return. Nevertheless, Nevertheless, the big man pairing of Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis has yet to click, and Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report believes that the Pacers are open to trading Turner:

Several executives believe the Indiana Pacers (18-9) will eventually look to move Myles Turner, who isn’t generally considered a great fit long-term with Domantas Sabonis.

In case you didn't know...

The Pacers selected Turner with the 11th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft - and the Texas native didn't take long to break into Indiana's starting lineup. The 23-year-old is closing in on 300 regular-season appearances for the Pacers, and he has long been viewed as the future of the franchise. Nevertheless, Turner has struggled to adapt alongside Sabonis so far this season and is only averaging 11.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game

The heart of the matter

Sabonis was long-backed as the man that the Pacers would be willing to trade away, although the 23-year-old has continued to get better, and the front office rewarded him with a new four years, $74.9 million contract extension back in October.

Due to this, Sabonis now appears to be central to Indiana's future plans while Turner's influence on the team continues to decline. The Pacers appear to be in no rush to offload Turner, although if the team is serious about competing over the next five years, they may choose to offload the center in order to strengthen other positions on the roster.

What's next?

The Pacers will be looking to pick up a huge win as they take on the 24-3 Los Angeles Lakers this evening.