Source: Pacers ‘aren’t engaged’ in Bogdan Bogdanovic-Myles Turner trade talks with Kings
Another potential suitor emerged in the Bogdan Bogdanovic sweepstakes Saturday night with an intriguing new possibility for the Kings, but that possibility was quickly shot down by a source with knowledge of the situation.
Sources told James Ham of NBC Sports California the Indiana Pacers have shown interest in Bogdanovic. The report noted the Pacers were willing to part with Myles Turner in an attempt to trade for Gordon Hayward and questioned whether they would do the same in a sign-and-trade deal for Bogdanovic.
A league source told The Sacramento Bee the Pacers “aren’t engaged in this” when asked about the possibility of a trade involving Turner and Bogdanovic. There was room for interpretation as to Indiana’s interest in Bogdanovic, but the source flatly rejected the idea of Turner being involved in a deal between the Kings and Pacers.
Of course, like so many other things during these uncertain times, this could change. In some ways such a deal would make sense for each team.
Turner, 24, is a 6-foot-11, 250-pound center who averaged 12.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game last season. He is a career 35.7% 3-point shooter who would provide the rare combination of floor spacing and rim protection the Kings need next to Marvin Bagley III. Turner is entering the second year of a four-year, $72 million contract, but the Pacers might be ready to move on given the emergence of Domantas Sabonis.
Turner’s $18 million salary aligns closely to what Bogdanovic is believed to be seeking as a restricted free agent after three seasons in Sacramento. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard averaged a career-high 15.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 61 games for the Kings last season. He shot 44% from the field and 37.2% from 3-point range.
Bogdanovic told The Bee he turned down a four-year, $51.4 million extension prior to the 2019-20 season, choosing instead to test the market as a restricted free agent. The Kings extended a $10.7 million qualifying offer to Bogdanovic on Thursday, ensuring they would have the right of first refusal as he entered free agency.
The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner reported Saturday “sources remain confident” the Hawks are in a strong position to sign the 28-year-old shooting guard to an offer sheet worth about $72 million over four years. The Kings would have 48 hours to match the offer or they would lose Bogdanovic to the Hawks without compensation. Sacramento and Atlanta could choose to work out a sign-and-trade agreement instead, but that will no longer be an option if Bogdanovic signs the offer sheet.
Under rules of the collective bargaining agreement, a restricted free agent can sign an offer sheet with any team, but the player’s original team can retain him by matching the terms of that offer. The terms of that deal, which must be for a minimum of two seasons, are provided to the player’s original team, which has two days to match the offer.
If the team matches the offer, the player remains under contract with his original team under the principal terms of the offer sheet. If the team declines to match the offer, the player is under contract with the new team.
The Kings reportedly agreed to a sign-and-trade deal Monday that would have sent Bogdanovic and Justin James to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Donte DiVincenzo, Ersan Ilyasova and D.J. Wilson, but that deal collapsed over the course of the week.
A source told The Bee “there is no deal” when the trade was first reported Monday and reiterated “there was never a deal” as the trade unraveled Wednesday, noting Bogdanovic could not be offered a new contract until free agency began Friday. Now the NBA is investigating whether the failed deal violated tampering rules.
