{"id":143252,"date":"2025-06-03T09:42:33","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T13:42:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=143252"},"modified":"2025-06-03T09:42:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T13:42:33","slug":"pacers-face-luxury-tax-test-with-myles-turner-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/03\/pacers-face-luxury-tax-test-with-myles-turner-decision\/","title":{"rendered":"Pacers Face Luxury Tax Test with Myles Turner Decision"},"content":{"rendered":"

INDIANAPOLIS<\/strong> – Brian Windhorst reports that Indiana Pacers<\/a> ownership has warmed up to paying the luxury tax. He said<\/a>, \u201cOwnership will greenlight them going a little bit into the tax for a little while.\u201d That marks a major shift. Indiana last paid the luxury tax back in 2005-06. Since then, they prided themselves on staying under the threshold. Yet, their recent success\u2014reaching the NBA Finals\u2014has changed priorities. The team wants to keep momentum, and that may cost some extra dollars.<\/p>\n

Pacers Face Luxury Tax Test with Myles Turner Decision<\/h2>\n

Turner\u2019s Market Value Has Soared<\/h3>\n
\"The
May 31, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) defends against a shot by =m32= in the third quarter during game six of the eastern conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Myles Turner<\/a> hasn\u2019t signed an extension because his two-year deal expires this season. The NBA rules don’t allow teams to offer players extensions if the player signs a two-year deal in free agency. Now he\u2019ll hit unrestricted free agency. Turner averaged 15.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in the regular season on 48.1\/39.6\/77.3 shooting. In the playoffs, he\u2019s stepped up\u201415.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks on 52.5\/40.3\/77.6 splits. He\u2019s blocked shots, spaced the floor, and protected the rim. His stock has never been higher. Turner reportedly wants north of $30 million per year. That would push the Pacers into luxury tax territory.<\/p>\n

Bird Rights Give Indiana an Edge<\/h3>\n

Thankfully, the Pacers hold Turner\u2019s Bird rights. They can outbid other teams without worrying about matching offers. If they value his defense and 3-point shooting the way they say they do, they can pay him. But doing so means dipping their feet into the luxury tax. Without Turner\u2019s contract, they sit about $20 million below the tax line. Offering him more than $30 million annually plunges them over. Still, staying competitive means making tough choices.<\/p>\n

Isaiah Jackson\u2019s Bench Role in Question<\/h3>\n

Isaiah Jackson<\/a>, once expected to be the reserve center, tore his Achilles in November. Now he\u2019s rehabbing instead of contributing. That left a gap at the backup big spot. Thomas Bryant<\/a> and Tony Bradley<\/a> have filled that role. With this new intel, it makes Jackson’s uncertain future a bit clearer. With the Pacers willing to enter into the luxury tax to keep it’s free agents, Jackson should return on a team-friendly two or three-year deal.<\/p>\n

Mathurin\u2019s Extension Looms<\/h3>\n

Bennedict Mathurin<\/a> becomes eligible to sign his rookie extension on July 1st. He\u2019s blossomed as a reliable scorer and defender. Securing Mathurin keeps their young core intact. But it also adds more salary to the ledger. The Pacers luxury tax conversation then expands beyond Turner. Adding both Turner and Mathurin means strategic cap management. Indiana needs to decide how much luxury they\u2019ll embrace to keep this group together.<\/p>\n

Building a Finals-Caliber Roster<\/h3>\n

No team was projected to reach the Finals this year, but Indiana defied odds. They swept the Knicks in the East Finals, punching their first Finals ticket in 25 years. Now they must decide if they\u2019ll invest in a title chase or maintain fiscal caution. The Pacers\u2019 success makes it tempting to spend. If the Pacers decide to dip into the luxury tax, that\u2019ll signal commitment to winning now.<\/p>\n

The Final Call: Value vs. Discipline<\/h3>\n

The Pacers face a dilemma: pay Turner what he\u2019s worth or walk away. They can avoid tax penalties by letting him test the market. But that could cost them a shot at repeating deep playoff runs. Ownership, with this new intel, is signaling that Turner\u2019s impact is worth the long-term financial implications of entering the tax.<\/p>\n

In the end, the Pacers’ luxury tax decision isn\u2019t just numbers on a page. It\u2019s about seizing a unique championship window and deciding how much they\u2019re willing to spend to keep it open.<\/p>\n

INDIANAPOLIS – Brian Windhorst reports that Indiana Pacers ownership has warmed up to paying the luxury tax. He said, \u201cOwnership will greenlight them going a little bit into the tax for a little while.\u201d That marks a major shift. Indiana last paid the luxury tax back in 2005-06. Since then, they prided themselves on staying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":143254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,11,62,3,4721],"tags":[50219,50041,4303,4299,49708,637,4975,49619],"class_list":["post-143252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-pacers","category-nba","category-news","category-trade-rumors","tag-2025-nba-free-agents","tag-2025-nba-playoffs","tag-bennedict-mathurin","tag-isaiah-jackson","tag-luxury-tax","tag-myles-turner","tag-nba-contracts","tag-team-ownership"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143252"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":143256,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143252\/revisions\/143256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}