'It feels like they gave up': Inside Myles Turner's painful exit from the Pacers -- to their fiercest rival

MYLES TURNER WALKED onto the baseball diamond and headed toward the pitcher's mound. He was wearing a custom No. 3 Milwaukee Brewers jersey.

It was a sleepy Sunday on Sept. 28, the final day of MLB's regular season, and the Brewers had already secured the best record in baseball. The crowd began to roar in anticipation as Milwaukee's newest 7-footer headed toward the mound.

Turner hopped over the freshly painted first-base foul line and raised his hand to acknowledge the crowd, pumping his fist as it continued to cheer. On the mound, he made a brief sidestep for a windup and delivered the first pitch as the crowd continued its warm welcome.

Despite making several trips to the city during his decade playing for the Indiana Pacers, Turner had never seen much of Milwaukee, keeping mostly to his hotel room during road trips.

But ever since he signed a four-year, $107 million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks in July, Turner has made a point to get out and see the city.

A few weeks after throwing out the first pitch, Turner joined a large group of Bucks players and staffers at the Game 5 of the National League Division Series.

"Ain't nothing like baseball in October, baby!" Turner said in an Instagram story on MLB's official page. "Let's go Brewers."

He's also made a trip to Lambeau Field, even though he is a devout Dallas Cowboys fan. He's gone to pick apples at Apple Holler, a beloved tradition among the locals. He's spent time downtown sitting along Lake Michigan and walking around the Milwaukee Public Market.

"It's a great Midwest city, man," Turner told ESPN. "That Midwest nice. That culture here is real."

For a decade, Turner was a franchise cornerstone in Indiana, transforming from a first-round pick in 2015 into someone who had his own fan section, Turner's Block, in the arena.

But he was also the subject of seemingly never-ending trade rumors, as he developed into one of the lynchpins of the team that made a run to the 2025 NBA Finals.

As the longest tenured Pacers player on last season's team, Turner had been integral to the fabric of Indiana. When the team won the Eastern Conference championship, he addressed the home crowd with a heartfelt message during the trophy presentation.

"Woooo man, it's been a long time coming, man," Turner said in May. "I got to give a huge shoutout to the [Pacers owners] Simons [family] for never stopping believing in me.

"This front office, this organization is amazing. I've spent a third of my life here, it's crazy. I've really grown up here with y'all."

Two months later, it was over, a jarring end to a celebrated tenure that Turner admits he's still grappling with.

Turner says he felt blindsided by the Pacers' offer, leading him to join the Bucks, who aggressively went after him as a way to retool their team with a player they believed was a perfect fit next to Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Milwaukee felt so strongly that they were willing to spend $113 million to waive-and-stretch Damian Lillard to sign him.

So far, it's worked for the Bucks, who through the first couple of weeks of the season land in the top 10 in offensive and defensive efficiency and a record of 4-1. Meanwhile, the Pacers are 0-5, and their rotation from the Finals has been nearly decimated by injuries.

On Monday, Turner will return to Indiana for the first time in his career as a visiting player, when the Bucks face the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

"I don't know what to expect," Turner said. "There's going to be some cheers. There's going to be some boos. It kind of just is what it is. For me personally, the biggest thing is obviously winning the basketball game, that's paramount. But there's going to be some mixed emotions.

"Still got some great people in the organization that I rock with. Obviously old teammates, it's going to be a blend of emotions, for sure."

Games between the Pacers and Bucks have had heightened intensity over the past few seasons, dating to an argument over a game ball in 2023. It continued at the first NBA Cup and then two straight meetings in the postseason, where Indiana has eliminated Milwaukee in back-to-back seasons.

Turner has felt the rivalry already. At Bucks media day, he added to it. "I'm in a city now that wants to celebrate me. There's a great quote that says, 'Go where you're celebrated.' I feel like that's here."

Two days later, amid backlash from Pacers fans, he clarified, posting, "This quote has nothing to do with Indy fans and everything to do with my free agency experience."

This Quote Has NOTHING To Do With Indy Fans & EVERYTHING To Do With My Free Agency Experience https://t.co/eYsTnxPNWN

He found himself in the middle of it again earlier this week, when Turner appeared on Thanasis Antetokounmpo's podcast, "Thanalysis."

On it, Turner appeared to criticize Tyrese Haliburton as a "fake tough guy." The clip went viral.

As it did, Turner once again had to clarify, posting the full video of the clip in context. When he was asked about this latest turn as the new centerpiece of the NBA's newest, fiercest rivalry, Turner just shook his head in exasperation.

He's tried to strike a balance between embracing and praising his new city and team, with the memories of his time in Indiana and the painful departure from the only NBA home he had ever known. "

"Ownership made a decision and I kind of had no choice but to roll with it," Turner said. "The toughest part is we were just so close to accomplishing the ultimate goal. It just feels like they gave up."

AFTER THE FINALS in June, Turner prepared for an offseason as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.

After spending a few days at home in Indianapolis, he planned to fly to Hawaii, presuming a new deal would get wrapped up with the Pacers.

He had gotten used to the trade rumors. The sharpness of the nearly annual uncertainty surrounding how the team felt about him had dulled. He had always found his way back.

But negotiations between Turner's agent and the Pacers quickly began to stall. Indiana never extended an offer beyond $22 million annually for three years, sources told ESPN.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee was devising a way to create cap space by waiving Lillard's remaining $113 million and stretching it over the next five years. It was an aggressive and unprecedented move for an NBA team, but one the Bucks were motivated to make to not waste a year of Antetokounmpo's prime.

"[Indiana] made it very clear how they valued me," Turner said. "And so did the Milwaukee Bucks."

The Bucks then presented him with a four-year, $107 million offer -- or about $27 million annually and included a player option for the final year of the contract.

"I've always been told when I was in trade rumors, this is a business, this is a business, this is a business," Turner said. "And that's kind of what this decision was for me. It was a business decision. It's unfortunate that it came at the time that it did, but it's a $40 million difference at the end of the day."

Pacers president Kevin Pritchard said he learned of Turner's decision the same way the rest of the world did, on social media. He was shocked, he said. He believed negotiations were still ongoing.

"I know this: [Pacers owner] Herb Simon and [minority owner] Steven Rales and the Simon family were fully prepared to go deep into the tax to keep him," Pritchard said in July. "And we really wanted to do that. We were negotiating in good faith. But what happens in this league is sometimes you're negotiating, but because a guy is unrestricted, he has the right to say, 'That's the offer I want. I'm going to take it, and that's best for my family."

Pritchard also said he didn't think negotiations with Turner would have gone any differently if Haliburton hadn't torn an Achilles. He thought Indiana was near a number that Turner would have agreed to.

Turner did not see it that way.

"There were a lot of factors that went into the decision," Turner said, "but Indiana made it very easy for me."

A FEW MINUTES into Milwaukee's opening night on Oct. 22 against the Washington Wizards, the Bucks got a glimpse of what they envisioned when they signed their new big man.

With 9:04 remaining, Antetokounmpo drove toward the basket, and The Wizards' defense immediately collapsed around him, four players turning toward Antetokounmpo as he barreled downhill.

Then, Antetokounmpo stopped and saw help in the form of a 7-footer with a jumper in the corner, forcing second-year wing Alex Sarr to close out hard.

Turner pumped, got Sarr to jump and sailed past him toward the rim to throw down a tomahawk dunk.

"I've jumped many times in that pump fake because he's capable of making a shot," Antetokounmpo said. "Incredible play. I haven't seen a play like that in a while from somebody with a Bucks jersey."

Turner arrived in Milwaukee about a month before the start of training camp and worked out and scrimmaged with nearly the entire team, aside from Giannis and Thanasis, who were helping lead Greece to a Bronze medal finish at EuroBasket.

The extra time helped Turner learn the habits of his teammates and start developing relationships with the players who he had long opposed.

Still, aside from a few highlights, the on-court adjustment offensively has not been particularly seamless. He's averaging TKTKadjust on Sunday 8.3 points on 32% shooting (22% from 3) and acknowledged he's still figuring out his role within the offense.

Bucks coach Doc Rivers, for his part, is not concerned.

"The shot's not going down right now," River said, shrugging. "I don't seem that concerned about it at all because I'm not. He's doing a lot of stuff for us that helps us win. He's a winner and there's going to be nights where all the shots go in and he's going to look great. There's going to be nights ... where he contributed in a huge way to his winning and it doesn't show up in the stat sheet. We know it and that's really all that matters."

What doesn't show up in the stat sheet is the leadership hole he's already filling with veterans Brook Lopez, Khris Middleton and Lillard gone.

"In the locker room, huddles, in practice," Bucks guard AJ Green told ESPN, "he's consistent in what we need to do out there, who we need to be, holding everybody to that standard and accountability, because he's doing it himself."

Teams around the league are mimicking some of the tentpoles of Indiana's style, up-tempo, relentless pressure and spacing the floor with shooters. Watching Indiana's run to the Finals last season using up-tempo, relentless pressure and floor spacing made young Bucks players eager to soak up tips from Turner.

But it's Turner athleticism for a 7-footer that makes him a natural fit next to Antetokounmpo.

Despite his early struggles, his shooting ability spaces the floor and gives the Bucks far more offensive optionality. Last season, Turner made eight 3-pointers after setting a flare screen, an off-ball action designed to free up a shooter on the perimeter, according to ESPN Research, the most in the NBA. Lopez started 80 games for the Bucks in 2024-25 but made only one.

Still, Antetokounmpo expects the chemistry between the two to take time.

Early returns are promising.

Rivers has played Turner and Giannis 104 minutes together entering Thursday, the most of any two-man combo on the team. The Bucks have a net rating of plus-8.5 during that span.

"The combination is good," Rivers said. "I think [Turner] does so many things that you don't see in the naked eye. Giannis made a point talking about it to me yesterday, like how many times when Giannis is coming off a pick, he's never had a big dive [toward the basket]."

The feeling is mutual.

After knocking down 5 of 8 3-pointers and scoring 19 points during the duo's first preseason game, Turner was giddy in his praise for Antetokounmpo.

"He's about to change my life, man," Turner said of his new teammate. "I spent 10 years of my life doing the exact same thing. "It's obviously an adjustment, but it's hoops at the end of the day."