Myles Turner has fallen out of favor in the Milwaukee Bucks' rotation. Last July, that sentence wouldn't have even been fathomable. While no one thought Turner signing with the Bucks would guarantee the Larry O'Brien returning to Milwaukee, plenty around the NBA thought it was the perfect move to give the team an ideal Brook Lopez replacement as they aimed to compete.
The Bucks clearly did, given that they moved heaven and earth to sign him. Not only did Milwaukee sign him to a four-year, $109 million deal, but they also ate significant money on Damian Lillard's deal to make it happen. In doing so, they agreed to cough up $22.5 million in each of the next five seasons. Again, that's each season. For a price like that, there were certainly high expectations for Turner.
The current state of things should have people wondering if the Bucks would have been better off just keeping Lillard, even if he wouldn't play at all this year, rather than handicapping their financials.
Myles Turner is losing his role on the Bucks
Despite being the second-highest-paid player on the roster behind Giannis Antetokounmpo, Turner has been used like a forgotten role player lately. In three games this month, the big man is averaging 20.5 minutes per game, which ranks ninth on the roster. Ninth. Milwaukee's big fish addition has been on the floor to start games, but after that, his action is limited.
Instead, Doc Rivers has opted to roll with Bobby Portis and Jericho Sims. Portis, though still a black hole on offense at times and a subpar defender, has remained an excellent outside shooter. Sims has broken out significantly lately, expanding his game far beyond just being a lob threat by also growing as a rebounder and passer. Doc Rivers just seems to like what he's getting from them more.
Statistically, it's been a rough month for Milwaukee's prized summer addition. Turner is averaging a mere seven points on 7.3 shot attempts, coming out to 31.8 percent shooting from the field. He has struggled to find any consistency, and his defensive impact has been limited as well. Despite his pay, Rivers has simply turned his attention elsewhere.
Myles Turner gamble coming back to bite the Bucks
Not only is Turner owed a good chunk of change over the next several years, but the Bucks also still have to pay Lillard. Would keeping Lillard have put them in a better position? Given that he was likely going to miss the entire year due to his Achilles tear, no. However, agreeing to make that move only to have a 26-35 record at this point is certainly not ideal. The goal was to compete.
The Bucks didn't do everything they did to make Turner a depth piece in Milwaukee.
Had they kept Lillard, they could have taken a gap year like they are now and saved themselves quite a bit of money. Hindsight is 20-20, of course. No one could have predicted this is how poorly things would have turned out when the Milwaukee Bucks first made that shocking move last July.
It must be noted that not all hope is lost on Turner. It's no secret that he's being used differently than he was in Indiana. In Milwaukee, he's becoming basically only a spot up threat, for one. A change of team direction could certainly help Turner get back on track. For now, though, the Milwaukee Bucks look stuck in the mud.
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