The Milwaukee Bucks suffered a deflating collapse against the lowly Bulls in Sunday's 120-97 loss, and Myles Turner's minutes have been trending down even amid a recent win streak. Versus Chicago, he received less playing time than all of Bobby Portis, Kyle Kuzma, and Jericho Sims. It wasn't because the game got out of hand. Turner's involvement has steadily declined for some time.
And when he's making $25.3 million, that's a problem. On the Bucks' payroll, only Giannis Antetokounmpo has a higher salary. Sims is making under $2.5 million. In minutes, he has outplayed Turner in three of the past five games since the latter returned from a calf strain. Sims has played about 15 total minutes more in that span, and not because Turner is on a pitch count (he's not).
Staunchly defending Turner, giving him a pass due to a transition period or poor coaching, is becoming more and more difficult. At this point, the answer seems clear. Paying him all that money in free agency was a mistake, and it hurts having all that money wrapped up in one underperforming player.
Bucks aren't getting what they paid for from Turner
He turned in another lackluster outing against the Bulls: 3-for-10 from the floor shooting, eight points, seven rebounds, three turnovers. He came up with a block and a pair of steals. In theory, however, it was a matchup he should have dominated.
The Bulls started an undersized center, the 6-foot-7 Guerschon Yabusele. Although he has bulk, he is the definition of a small-ball five. Off the bench, Turner had only to deal with Nick Richards. While Richards has height and some hops, that shouldn't be a particularly tough matchup on either end of the court.
Statistical underperformance might be the least of Turner's worries. Arguably, the bigger issue is that he simply isn't playing; blame part of that on Doc Rivers, but some nights, Turner just doesn't give them enough energy or rebounding. Even when he produced solid games against New York and Cleveland, Sims played more across the two games.
Versus Miami, Turner watched a thrilling comeback win from the bench as the Bucks leaned into a lineup led by Sims and Portis. He finished the night 1-for-5 for two points. His teammates rallied in spite of him, not because of him.
His absence from Rivers' closing lineups is nothing new. Unfortunately, that reality is not what the front office expected when they shelled out $109 million last summer to steal Turner away from the rival Pacers. Indiana fans are laughing at Milwaukee right now. They're pointing fingers. They are wiping the gleeful tears from their faces. See, we told you so.
Turner's hefty contract is dragging down the roster
Turner hasn't been awful. He's averaging 12.6 points and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 39 percent from deep. But he is contributing only 5.6 rebounds a night and converting just 44.5 percent from the field overall. That's not good enough, it's below his standards, and it's not what the Bucks are paying for.
The bitter implication is that they could have lumped all that money into a more useful player, at least one who could stay on the floor in crunch time, or break it up into multiple rotation pieces for greater flexibility. Turner is like a sports car left in the garage in favor of a couple of dirt bikes. And some days, the engine won't start.
In many ways, he has given them no choice. Sims is outdoing him on the glass and as an energy source. Portis is a reliable, aggressive bucket-getter. Kuzma can flex into the four-spot to allow the former two take Turner's minutes at the five.
The Bucks have adjusted accordingly by redistributing available playing time. What they can't remedy is that they're paying Turner a starter's money, over 10 times Sims' paycheck. They're paying him to bench-warm at the most crucial moments, and they're paying him with money they wish they had the chance to re-invest.