Indy Sports News

Indy Sports News

Rick Carlisle on Myles Turner leaving: 'There was never a chance to counter'

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Rick Carlisle: Look—losing Myles Turner is a significant loss for our team. The guy’s been a terrific player. He had a great season. And look, we were talking to them—or talking to them, meaning his agent—about him returning. And really, kind of out of nowhere, Milwaukee decided to waive Damian Lillard and stretch his contract—stretch his money out over whatever number of years you can do it by rule. And then they created space to sign Myles. I think what probably happened—and this is part of negotiation in any sport— A team will say: “Hey, look, we have this offer. It’s this much over this many years, but if we make this offer, we need to know that you’re going to take it and not shop it.” And so, I believe that’s probably what happened with Milwaukee. It was a number. It was a certain number of years. And they just jumped at it, and there was never a chance to counter. So—those things happen. And when they do, you just have to keep going.
Source: YouTube

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“I feel that Milwaukee valued me a bit more than [the Pacers]”
Myles Turner tells @termineradio, @Jumpshot8, and Ryan McDonough the thought process behind his decision to leave his former team for their division foe pic.x.com/sNlU50FiSr – 2:48 PM

More on this storyline

Rick Carlisle: I had a nice conversation with Myles the day after. Wished him the very, very best. It was a special relationship that I developed with him over four years. I mean, he played the best he’s ever played. One of the reasons was—he got to play his natural position full-time. And so, that was great for him. -via YouTube / July 15, 2025
Myles Turner on leaving Indiana: ‘At the end of the day, bro, it’s not a Cinderella story, you know what I mean? I think that’s what how people are trying to form this and though I think the way I viewed it is I wanted to be thankful, for just the people that rock with me the entire time, my 10-year journey in Indiana, but also let them realize that at this time I didn’t made the best decision for my family made the best decision for me and myself going into my prime, and this is how I saw fit. Kyrie Irving: Wait, so there’s a better version of Myles Turner? Myles Turner: Absolutely, I’m evolving. -via YouTube / July 13, 2025
Myles Turner: ‘Free agency is crazy because, you know, you view yourself one way and then you hope that others view you that way as well across the league. But then you might value yourself a certain way and demand a certain amount of number or a certain number. And then the rest of the league, you know, might be cap space or, you know, there’s only a mid-level exception. ‘We can only offer you this.’ So, you know, it’s a tough world of emotion, to say the least.’ -via YouTube / July 13, 2025
James Johnson! How scary could he potentially be? He doesn’t seem like a scary guy… When you’re a big, ass-kicking guy, you’re either: A) “Because I have a hammer, everything’s a nail,” or B) You understand it, and you don’t look for conflict. He seems like the latter—but how scary could he be? Rick Carlisle (half-jokingly): Yeah, we gotta be careful—I don’t know where this show goes out to, exactly. But he’s undefeated. He’s an undefeated mixed martial arts guy. I think he’s been in eight or ten matches, something like that. And you know—one time I heard somebody talking to him, like: “Don’t be starting stuff or whatever…” And he said to me: “Coach, in my discipline—we don’t start things, we finish things.” And so… that’s all I really needed to hear. If I even needed to hear anything at all about it. He’s a special guy, you know? -via YouTube / July 15, 2025