Now that the Bucks seem to be real contenders to land Jalen Duren in a sign-and-trade, they finally have a pathway to getting a genuine young All-Star for the first time in years. Acquiring Duren, especially at the cost of trading away Myles Turner, would finally give Milwaukee some relief for waiving and stretching Damian Lillard's contract.
Lillard is still on the books for over $20 million in each of the next four seasons, but that's easier to manage with an actual rising star at center. In contrast, the flexibility acquired from waiving Lillard has been used so far on Turner, whose tenure in Milwaukee has been a failed experiment so far.
Duren makes more sense for the Bucks than Turner
At this point in his career, Turner is obviously a known commodity and nothing more than a supporting piece. The 3-and-D capabilities that once made him such an enticing prospect have spread to other centers around the league. Turner himself has failed to add other dimensions to his game and certainly doesn't profile as a potential first option in the future.
On the other hand, Duren is still rapidly improving and was in the running for Most Improved Player last season. At just age 22, he averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game for the 60-win Pistons. His individual performance, along with Detroit's defense, rightfully earned him All-Star and All-NBA selections for the first time in his career.
The Bucks are fully entering a rebuild, so having a younger center with a higher trajectory makes all the sense in the world. Even if there would be some immediate chemistry issues if Duren arrived this late in the offseason, Milwaukee should still be happy to welcome him and view him as a long-term piece.
Even Duren's contract demands are reasonable for Milwaukee
The only reason Duren hasn't been re-signed by the Pistons yet is that he's demanding more money than they're willing to offer. Contract disputes between the two sides have lasted the whole summer and reportedly gotten to the point of Duren rejecting a five-year/$200 million offer from Detroit, per The Athletic's Sam Amick and Hunter Patterson (subscription required).
The Pistons are in the process of building a championship contender, so they must be careful with how they allocate their salary going forward. However, the Bucks have more room to take chances on a promising young player because they are rebuilding. Even with Lillard's dead money still on the books, Duren's huge contract demands make sense for the Bucks more than Turner's mid-sized salary.
Duren might cost a lot more than Turner going forward, but the Bucks still have room under the first apron and will at least get some superstar potential even if they sign Duren for around $40 million per season. At this point, it would definitely be a better use of their remaining salary cap flexibility than paying Turner.
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