Kevin Pritchard has indicated that Indiana will sign another center as the club looks to compensate for Myles Turner's departure.
Pacers GM Announces Another Center Signing After Myles Turner Exit originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Indiana Pacers have been making moves to compensate for the free agency departure of now-Milwaukee Bucks center Myles Turner.
The 6-foot-11 Texas product had been the club's longest-tenured player, but exited after a 10-year run and almost constant trade rumors. At least Turner saw his Pacers stint end with a pair of deep playoff runs.
In 2023-24, the No. 6-seeded Pacers snuck into the Eastern Conference Finals, only to get swept by the eventual champion Boston Celtics.
Last season, the 50-win Pacers shocked the world, advancing all the way to the NBA Finals and pushing the 68-win Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games.
Had two-time All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton not torn his Achilles tendon, with the Pacers leading, during Game 7's first quarter, there's a chance Turner would have capped off his Finals run with a title.
Now that Haliburton is likely to miss all of 2025-26 as he recovers, Indiana saw an opportunity to avoid paying the league's luxury tax and opted to low-ball Turner in unrestricted free agency, inspiring his decision to defect for the Bucks on a four-year, $107 million contract.
Milwaukee stretched-and-waived its own superstar point guard with a torn Achilles tendon, Damian Lillard, to make room for Turner.
Indiana is now looking to compensate, piecemeal, for Turner's departure, with many top free agent centers off the board already.
Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star reports that, during his Monday media availability, Indiana general manager Kevin Pritchard revealed that the Pacers intend to re-sign another of their free agent centers, James Wiseman.
Lots going on in this Kevin Pritchard availability but he just said they’ll sign James Wiseman
— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) July 7, 2025
Wiseman, the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NBA draft (10 picks ahead of Haliburton and six picks ahead of Indiana power forward Obi Toppin), played just one game last season before tearing his own Achilles tendon and missing the rest of the year.
The Pacers also traded for ex-Memphis Grizzlies stretch five Jay Huff. Center Tony Bradley, who played meaningful playoff minutes ahead of fellow backup big Thomas Bryant, has a partial contract guarantee next season. Bryant and another hurt center, Isaiah Jackson Jr., are both free agents this summer. Jackson is a restricted free agent, meaning Indiana can match any offer extended his way.
Related: Milwaukee Bucks Orchestrate Complicated Deal to Steal Myles Turner From Indiana Pacers
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
