The Pacers need to trade Myles Turner. Here are the top 5 trade options this season

After a dream campaign in 2024-25 The Indiana Pacers are coming off one road win since winning its first NBA title in franchise history, one would think this would be the start of a dominant streak for the league’s fastest growing team. However, Tyrese Halliburton’s Achilles tear has made life difficult for Indiana so far this season, and the loss of Myles Turner in free agency has proven to be a big one for the team.

Turner was not at his best for his new team the Milwaukee Bucks. But having played with one team for the first 11 seasons of his career, the massive change he went through when he signed with the arch-rival Pacers was always going to require an adjustment period.

Without Turner, Pacers agreed to fill their starting center position. They’ve gone through their range of centers, and while they’ve found Jay Huff to be their best option lately, it’s clear he’s not a long-term solution for the team.

According to recent reports, The Pacers are looking for their long-term center who fits into the team’s core, style of play and timeline. They have all of their future first-round picks, so that should help any potential deal.

That said, here are the Pacers’ best options to fill the starting center void created by Turner’s departure.

Ivica Zubac

Season 2025-26 running away from the Los Angeles Clippersand at this point, the hole they’ve dug themselves into may be too deep to climb out of. As a result, they become the popular pick to blow it, but it remains so unlikely, especially when they don’t have their own 2026 first-round pick (they’ll deal it to the Oklahoma City Thunder thanks to the 2019 Paul George trade).

A player who might become available in the event of an adThe oomsday script for the Clippers is Ivica Zubac. Time flew so fast that Zubac is already in his seventh full season with the team and is only getting better. He became the main internal threat; he is no longer someone who relies entirely on the play of others to get his buckets.

Zubac is currently averaging 16 and 12 with nearly a block per contest, and would be good for such an incredible pick-and-roll dance partner with Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard and TJ McConnell.

The Pacers are a team that relies heavily on creating shots from the perimeter, and Turner was the type of center that allowed them to play five outs on offense. Zubac offers a more consistent and easier way to produce buckets, as he routinely shoots over 60 percent from the field. Imagine the cap space Zubac would have to work with on this Pacers roster. He’ll be feasting a lot, compared to the tight quarters he sometimes has to go through with the Clippers.

A package centered around Benedict Maturin and Jerash Walker could work, and the Pacers could further sweeten the pot by adding two first-round picks. It’s a tooth under team agreement also (he’ll make a total of $58.7 million over the next three seasons), so he won’t be cheap at all.

Walker Kessler

Walker Kessler may be out for the season after tearing his labrum, but the Pacers are looking to the future anyway, making him a prime trade target if Will the Utah Jazz ever decide to trade him.

Kessler is only 24 years old and is one of the best shot blockers in the league; is second in the league since 2022 in blocks per game (2.4) and is seventh overall in total blocks despite playing in just 201 games. He’s not the most agile defender in space, nor is he the most advanced offensive player, but he bolsters the Pacers’ interior defense, giving them another young piece that can grow along with the rest of the team.

Kessler’s shoulder injury is not expected to cause long-term effects, so the Pacers may want to explore a trade for him while his value declines. Now, the Jazz might not want to trade him while he’s injured, but Indiana can always make things interesting by offering Maturin as well as a first-round pick or two.

His three-point shooting is a work in progress, but he may get a bigger green light under head coach Rick Carlisle. (He’s hit six of his eight 3-pointers in five games this season.) This is a very tempting prospect for Indiana, though he certainly won’t come cheap.

Daniel Gafford

The Dallas Mavericks will reportedly explore the trade market for some of their top players, including Anthony Davis, amid their struggles so far in the 2025-26 season. But Davis will be too expensive for the Pacers’ taste.

Davis is making $54.1 million, so the Pacers would have to trade several of their key players just to get him — defeating the point of acquiring him in the first place. Any trade package would have to include Pascal Siakam going to the Mavericks if they don’t go that route, and that’s not even thinking the Pacers are going to be fun.

So it makes more sense to The Pacers will pursue Daniel Gafford instead. Indiana has indeed been linked to Gafford, and he will be much easier to trade because he is only making $14.1 million this season. In fact, the Pacers can simply package Isaiah Jackson and Walker together and they’re already making money for Gafford. (Jackson will be eligible for a trade on January 15, 2026.)

Gafford is the main threat with the lob who will enjoy all the dunks the Pacers guards will throw at him. And his athleticism means he can play up and down to keep up with Indiana’s breakneck style of play.

The problem with Gafford is his injury propensity. It is also best used in water with another solid center. But with Huff emerging as one of the best shot-blockers in the NBA, perhaps that one-two punch at center can help the Indians advance.

Jarrett Allen

It certainly feels like it The Cleveland Cavaliers have to do something to reignite their conflicting dreams. They’re a middle-of-the-road team in the East because of injury issues to Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland, and there could be a change if they can’t get out of their rut.

Allen has been linked to potential trades for some time, and many believe the Cavs might be better off trading him for a 3-and-D wing or two. But with Jaylon Tyson emerging as a quality starter, that’s no longer a requirement for them in any Allen trade.

This could pave the way for the Pacers to acquire Allen. It’s hard to imagine the Cavs moving him on the road to a division rival, let alone the team that eliminated them from the NBA playoffs in 2025. But the Pacers have all their draft picks to try to sweeten the pot, and they can always make an offer around Maturin if it comes down to it.

Kel’el Ware

The The Miami Heat considered Kel’el Ware untouchable in trade talks for Kevin Durant. So one would think there’s no way he could be traded, especially not for anything the Pacers would want to offer.

But the Ware-Bam Adebayo partnership doesn’t bear much fruit. They can always get better together with more reps side by side, but this could be similar to the Turner-Domantas Sabonis dynamic the Pacers have had to work around for a few years.

If the Heat come to the conclusion that this duo is unplayable, then perhaps Ware could become available for the Pacers to pursue.