Indiana Pacers Rumors
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Myles Turner addresses trade rumors
In an exclusive interview with ClutchPoints, Turner talked about being involved in trade rumors and people trying to recruit him. “I haven’t been contacted by any players directly,” Turner told ClutchPoints. “It’s more so reps of players or managers and stuff like that. Small talk here and there, but I really don’t entertain most of that stuff. That’s what I got my people for.”
Trade season in the NBA can be a very stressful time. It’s not a video game or a fantasy league. You can’t trade someone and they’re available to play tomorrow. Professional athletes aren’t avatars, even though their size and abilities make them seem unreal. “I would say the first time I’ve dealt with trade rumors was probably like four years ago,” Turner continued. “I didn’t know what to think of it. As the summers progressed, I kept hearing more things, and that stuff was almost getting done. I kind of got used to hearing it all the time. I just took it as part of the business.”
Keifer Sykes shot 2-for-9 in regulation, but when the overtime period came the undrafted rookie looked like a different player. Tied at 115, Sykes buried a deep 3-pointer to give Indiana the lead with 1:41 left in the extra frame. He came right back on the next play and scored a layup to extend the lead to five, and Indiana held on to secure back-to-back wins for the first time in over a month.
”Here’s a guy that’s proven he can bounce back from a rough start, and boy, did he ever,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “It was an amazing effort, amazing to watch.”
But as soon as they stepped on the court against Indiana’s depleted roster, all of the positive energy they had evaporated, leading them to a 121-117 loss in overtime. The game — in which they entered as 16.5-point favorites — marked the third-largest upset in the Steve Kerr era. And Kerr took all the responsibility. “I blame myself, number one,” Kerr said. “I don’t think I did a good job of preparing the team to be ready to play.”
But Curry didn’t place all of the onus on his coach, particularly on the play in which he was the primary defender on Holiday. “I looked at the ball for like two seconds,” Curry said. “Holiday made a good cut and made a shot. I know there’s that conversation, should we have fouled and all. I was just a step slow and that one gave him too wide-open of a look. Trying to guard the inbounds and I got caught looking.” Asked about Kerr taking the blame for Thursday’s loss, Curry said it’s “his character” to assume responsibility. “I think that’s part of our culture,” Kerr said. “We all have a tendency to look at yourself, what you could have done differently.”
