How much hate is there between Myles Turner and Tyrese Haliburton?
Turner, who signed a four-year, $107 million contract with the Bucks this offseason, recently talked about being teammates with the star Pacers point guard. That included a lot of positive comments — and one negative one that went viral.
Turner was asked to say “three nice things” about Haliburton.
“First and foremost, you have to respect the way he’s handled himself in his career,” Turner said. “Coming from Sacramento and that situation — you think you are about to be the face of the franchise — then you come to Indiana and damn near reinvent yourself. So, one, his professionalism and the way he carried himself, you can’t really s—t on him. That’s how he made himself.”
Turner went on to call Haliburton a “hell of a teammate” who was responsible for organizing team bonding events and noted that his former teammate is “very close” with his family.
Three nice things indeed. Then co-host Tony Cartagena noted that Haliburton seems like the type of player you love to play with but hate when he is a rival.
That’s when Turner added this comment.
“Tyrese also knows he’s protected, too,” Turner said. “So, he can go out there, talk his s–t, say whatever the hell he wants to do, and he knows he has backup at the end of the day. Now, he’s not going to be talking the same s–t if you’re in the middle of the street. That’s what guys don’t do in this league.”
That 12-second clip went flying across social media — and let the hot takes begin.
Haliburton is known for theatrical celebrations — Knicks fans surely remember a certain choke sign from last season’s Eastern Conference Finals — on the court.
Turner responded to the brewing controversy on X.
Warning: Graphic Language
Turner and Haliburton helped the Pacers reach the NBA Finals last season, losing to the Thunder in seven games.
Haliburton tore his Achilles in the beginning of Game 7 and is expected to miss the whole season.
Turner is averaging 10 points and seven rebounds per game for Milwaukee.
