The Myles Turner situation is brutal. After a quiet debut season in Milwaukee, Turner's production has nosedived in year two. As one of the highest-paid players on the roster and someone the Milwaukee Bucks ate a historic amount of dead money to acquire, things look bad. It's not like everything will get better if the Bucks bench him, either, as backup Kel'el Ware is also struggling quite a bit.
November has been a rough month for Milwaukee's bigs
In five games this month, Turner is averaging 6.5 points and 5.8 rebounds while hitting 28.9 percent of his shot attempts. His assist and shot-blocking numbers have been decent, but they aren't enough to overcome his ugly numbers elsewhere. He looks like a shell of the player the Milwaukee Bucks had on their wish list when they waived and stretched Damian Lillard's deal.
Some have called for Turner to be benched. Coach Taylor Jenkins hasn't been shy about bumping the older players down a peg in the early going. Ousmane Dieng lost his spot to Nate Ament—who looks better each night—after a poor start to the season. Ryan Rollins has been demoted to a bench role in favor of the ascending Brayden Burries. Why not Turner? Surely Kel'el Ware can't be worse?
Ware hasn't done much to deserve a closer look, really. This month, he's averaging just 3.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting 22.2 percent from the floor. Averaging the 10th-most minutes on the team in this span, it just doesn't look like Jenkins fully trusts him, with the coach having to dust off third-string big man Jericho Sims against the New York Knicks.
If Ware were playing well, perhaps it would be more justifiable to bench Turner and let another young player run loose. However, as things are, it just feels unlikely.
Changes likely aren't coming at the center spot
Ideally, the Milwaukee Bucks could get off Turner completely via trade. He just doesn't fit in with the team's current timeline, and his massive contract spans several more years. Had he started the year off well, that might have been plausible. However, they'd be lucky to land Kristaps Porzingis in a deal with the Warriors even if they attached a first-round pick to Turner—he's been that bad.
For now, the likeliest route is standing pat and hoping both players can find their stride. The Bucks should look to rehab Turner's value as much as possible and jump at the first possible trade that brings back any value. If Ware can get back on track during that timeframe, perhaps then he would deserve a closer look as a starter.
Until then, don't expect any major changes.
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