Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner is staying put.
Minutes before Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline passed, Turner took to social media and posted a Survivor meme suggesting he isn't being moved:
That is notable because there was some trade speculation surrounding him at different times this season, especially with the Los Angeles Lakers needing more frontcourt depth.
It isn't necessarily surprising Indiana didn't move him, as NBA insider Marc Stein reported last Thursday "the prevailing leaguewide sense" was the Pacers "do not want to trade" him.
Still, he is scheduled for unrestricted free agency during the upcoming offseason and could sign elsewhere. Indiana may have been motivated to trade him to get something back in return before that potentially happens.
Turner has been with the Pacers his entire career and was a key piece of the team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season. The front office could always re-sign him to a new contract after making another playoff push this year.
And Indiana is starting to look like a team that could make a push, as it is in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings after going 12-3 in the last 15.
Turner is averaging 15.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from deep. His ability to stretch the floor makes him a matchup problem for opposing defenses, and that was surely intriguing to a team like the Lakers and others who could have used him in pick-and-pops with their primary ball-handlers.
Los Angeles seemingly needed another frontcourt piece after trading Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks in the deal that landed it Luka Dončić, but it addressed that concern Wednesday by trading Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap to the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams, per ESPN's Shams Charania.
As for Turner, he will remain in Indiana and continue helping the only NBA team he has ever known in the Eastern Conference.
Which he seemed thrilled with on Thursday.
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