The Milwaukee Bucks made a surprise move out of left field when they agreed to sign Myles Turner to a four-year, $107 million deal. The initial shock hadn't worn off before ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania added that the Bucks planned to waive and stretch Damian Lillard's remaining contract to make room for Turner. Later in the day, Milwaukee traded Pat Connaughton for additional cap space.
Lillard will receive $22 million for the next five seasons from the Bucks. When you combine that with Turner's average annual salary of $27 million, that means that the center will technically cost Milwaukee $50 million a season. Read that again.
The Bucks acted out of desperation, wanting to give Giannis Antetokounmpo a reason to stay in Wisconsin. It came at a high cost, one that could quickly come back to haunt them.
Myles Turner signing comes with high risk for the Bucks
Replacing Brook Lopez, who signed with the Clippers, with Turner is a solid move for the Bucks. He's a better defender than Lopez, is a better three-point shooter than Lopez, and is eight years younger than Lopez. If you didn't look at the finances, it'd appear to be a winning move for Milwaukee, but in today's collective bargaining agreement world, finances mean everything.
Making that kind of move should've meant vaulting up the standings as one of the top teams in the NBA, but that isn't the case. The Bucks aren't regarded as one of the best teams in their conference, much less the rest of the league. To have a shot at winning a title, Milwaukee will need Giannis Antetokounmpo to play on another level every night, and even that wouldn't be enough.
On one hand, the Bucks' desperation is understandable, but on the other, it could be what officially nails the coffin in on Giannis' career in Milwaukee. He hasn't publicly said that he wants to stay in Wisconsin, but Charania did say that Giannis helped recruit Turner to the Bucks. That has to mean something.
If Giannis starts the season in Milwaukee, that won't mean he'll still be there after the deadline. The Bucks need the Turner signing to pay off, and they did it to happen quickly. Turner will have a lot of pressure on his shoulders. It's not fair to him to expect him to have a season unlike any other, but because of the price the organization paid, he'll face unfair expectations. It's part of the business.