The Milwaukee Bucks made the decision to start a rebuild this offseason. After a year full of rumors, they finally traded Giannis Antetokounmpo, sending him to Miami. Now, they are trying to move on in the post-Antetokounmpo era.
With that being the case, one pundit believes that the Bucks should have gotten rid of another player. Myles Turner was brought in last offseason as the team’s big offseason signing. However, Bleacher Report believes he should have been traded this offseason.
Bucks Crushed for not Trading Myles Turner
According to Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report, Milwaukee needed to shed Turner’s massive salary. He believes they just needed to get something in return for him, even if it’s not close to what they paid for him.
“With Giannis gone, the Milwaukee Bucks should’ve moved Myles Turner for any reasonable combination of players or picks who’d more closely align with Brayden Burries, Kel’el Ware and Kasparas Jakučionis. That may not have given Milwaukee a ton of rebuild capital, but surely some team in the league would’ve given up something for Turner’s unique combination of skills,” Bailey wrote.
Signing Turner was a complete disaster for Milwaukee. Immediately after playing his worst stretch of basketball in the NBA Finals for the Pacers, the Bucks signed him to a four-year, $108.9 million deal. If that wasn’t bad enough, they also used the waive-and-stretch on Damian Lillard.
They will pay Damian Lillard $22.5 million to not play for the team for the next four years. This last season, Turner had career lows in rebounds, field goal percentage, free-throw percentage, and plus-minus. He also had the second-lowest scoring season of his career.
All of that clearly shows that the transaction was a complete disaster for the Bucks. Moving on from him would have been the right move, but it also may have been tough after the worst season of his career. While centers are valuable, trading for one with a high salary who appears to be on the decline isn’t smart.
Milwaukee Could Try to Rehab Myles Turner’s Trade Value
With the current roster setup, Turner doesn’t make a lot of sense. He is the oldest player who will likely be in the starting lineup, and Milwaukee has Kel’el Ware behind him. There is a chance that they try to start both big men this season, but they could just try to rehab Turner’s trade value.
Trading Turner at the deadline could make a lot of sense. He has had a lot of suitors over the years, although Indiana refused to trade him. If Milwaukee could get a first-round pick and a bench player, that is a deal they would likely take at this point.
The Bucks are expected to be one of the worst teams in the NBA this season without Antetokounmpo. However, they have plenty of guards who could surprise and develop sooner than expected.
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