Getty USA Basketball's Myles Turner and Rudy Gobert of France battle for possession of the ball during the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
For all the talk of Stephen Curry dominating, Andrew Wiggins proving his worth and Draymond Green being a two-way linchpin, Kevon Looney is arguably having the best postseason of the bunch for the Golden State Warriors.
More than ever before, the former 30th overall pick has looked like a player who deserves to be receiving steady minutes during a championship run.
Nevertheless, Looney’s limitations continue to be glaringly obvious. As good as he has been, he’s still just a 6.3 PPG scorer through 18 postseason games, and his effort defensively far outweighs his actual efficacy.
Let’s not kid ourselves, though — this has always been the reality for Looney, and the main reason why Dub Nation was burning up the trade machine in February in an attempt to will Myles Turner from Indianapolis to the Bay Area. And many of them will get back on that horse the moment the NBA Finals conclude.
As fate would have it, Turner looks to be rounding back into form, too, after suffering a season-ending stress reaction in his foot. However, his actual availability as a trade option may not be what fans are hoping for.
Turner Not Going Anywhere?
Per a report from longtime league insider Marc Stein, via his Stein Line Substack, the Pacers are intent on keeping the 26-year-old Turner in Indy, despite the fact that a full-scale rebuild seems like a logical next step for the franchise.
“Every time I asked, the word I get back is that he’s likely to stay in Indiana,” Stein said in the update.
Back in December, The Athletic‘s Shams Charania and Bob Kravitz reported that the Pacers had become more open to the concept of dealing their core veterans and, essentially, hitting the reset button. To that end, the team went on to deal Domantas Sabonis and Caris LeVert.
And with his contract expiring after next season, it would stand to reason for the Pacers to try to get something out of Turner while they still can.
Alas, Pacers owner Herb Simon has pushed back on the idea of going all the way back to square one. And a Turner-Tyrese Haliburton–Malcolm Brogdon–Buddy Hield core may be just good enough to make a run at a postseason return next season. They may be a play-in team, but I digress.
Even if Indy does decide to build for the future instead of the present, Turner is probably young enough at 26 and talented enough to be a big part of the next iteration. So, the Warriors — or the armchair GMs that follow them — may have to look elsewhere to shore up the pivot.
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Turner Beasting On IG
While Turner’s injury gave some people pause and had others finger-wagging at those who wanted him to bring him to the Warriors, the big man — who averaged 12.9 points, 7.1 boards and 2.8 blocks per game in 2021-22 — looks to be crushing his recovery.
Former baller turned trainer Melvin Sanders, who has been working with Turner, as well as Knicks star Julius Randle, posted the following on his Instagram account:
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