The Milwaukee Bucks have had an interesting offseason. They also pulled off one of the most shocking moves in NBA free agency.
Out of nowhere, the Bucks were able to sign Myles Turner away from the division rival Indiana Pacers. They landed him on a four-year deal worth over $108 million. What they had to do to sign Turner was even more shocking.
In order to afford the contract that they gave the veteran center, Milwaukee decided to waive and stretch out Damian Lillard’s contract. Lillard’s contract will be paid out to him over the next five years.
Despite the logistics of the move and being forced to move on from Lillard, the Bucks are very confident in their decision to sign Turner.
Now, more details have been revealed about the team’s reasoning for signing Turner.
Keith Smith of Spotrac has now shared what he heard about the situation from an anonymous coach from Milwaukee. He shared those details recently.
“When we signed Brook (Lopez) forever ago, it was because we knew adding a floor space that could protect the rim next to Giannis would make us hard to deal with on both ends,” the coach said. “We’re doing the same with Myles. He’s not exactly the same as Brook, but we don’t have to completely change our identity with Myles either. That’s huge for continuity.”
During the 2024-25 NBA season with the Pacers, Turner played in 72 games. He averaged 15.6 points per game to go along with 6.5 rebounds, two blocks, and 1.5 assists per game, while shooting 48.1 percent from the floor and 39.6 percent from the three-point line.
At 29 years old, Turner still has a long future ahead of him. The Bucks are hoping to see him bring his three-point and rim protection to the table. He has done that his whole career and Milwaukee obviously feels good about its investment into him.
