Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner is expected to be sidelined beyond the Feb. 10 trade deadline with a stress reaction in his left foot, complicating the franchise’s hopes to deal him prior to the offseason, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
The Pacers, who announced the injury Tuesday, said Turner would be re-examined in two weeks for the stress reaction. Sources said the recovery time could be approximately one month.
Turner is expected to get a CT scan in two weeks to check on the healing, sources said, and that’ll help to clarify a timeline for return. Turner, 25, has been central to the Pacers’ plans to reshape an underachieving roster in a trade.
A stress reaction isn’t an injury that will frighten teams away from Turner, but his inactivity and recovery time could temper offers to the Pacers — and perhaps a deal around the NBA draft in June could be a better avenue to bring back maximum value. The Pacers have been discussing several veterans in trade talks, including Turner, Domantas Sabonis and Caris LeVert, sources said.
Turner, who has led the NBA in blocks during the 2019 and 2021 seasons, has averaged 12.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks this season.