The Milwaukee Bucks are hoping for a bounce-back season from Myles Turner. Myles Turner is hoping for a bounce-back season from Myles Turner.
Last summer, the Bucks made one of the most surprising moves of the offseason.
First, they waived Damian Lillard and stretched the remaining $113 million on his contract over the next five years. That leaves Milwaukee responsible for $21.3 million in dead cap through the 2029-30 season.
With their newly created cap space, the Bucks poached Turner from the Indiana Pacers, signing him to a four-year, $108.9 million contract. His salary escalates each season, earning $26.6 million this year and topping out at $29.1 million in 2028-29, which is a player option.
Unfortunately, Turner didn’t reward Milwaukee’s gamble in Year 1.
Long viewed as an ideal frontcourt complement to Giannis Antetokounmpo, the veteran center struggled from the beginning. His fit looked clunky on both ends of the court, and he never seemed fully comfortable in Milwaukee.
The result was one of the worst seasons of his career. Turner averaged just 11.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, with all three figures ranking among the lowest marks of his career.
Part of the problem may have been stylistic.
Turner thrived in an Indiana offense built around ball and player movement. Milwaukee’s offense was far more stagnant, with too many possessions ending in players standing around and waiting for something to happen.
That could change under new head coach Taylor Jenkins.
Jenkins has embraced progressive tactics and analytics throughout his coaching career, which could lead to a much more fluid offensive system built around pace, spacing and quick decision-making.
Regardless of what the offense looks like, Turner has to be better this season.
Here is one realistic and one ambitious goal if he wants to complete his reclamation project in Milwaukee.
Realistic goal: Average two blocks and two made threes per game
Turner has only had one season in which he averaged at least two blocks and two made threes per game. That came during his final year with the Pacers, when he connected on 2.2 threes and blocked exactly two shots per contest.
Still, it’s a realistic benchmark for Milwaukee’s big man.
The outside shooting is the easier half of the equation.
Turner connected on 38.3 percent of his three-point attempts last season, resulting in 2.1 makes per game. If anything, his jumper was one of the few parts of his game that consistently translated.
Getting back to two blocks per game will be more difficult.
Turner has reached that threshold seven times in his career, but only once over the last three seasons. His average dipped to 1.6 blocks per game last year, his lowest mark since his rookie campaign.
That’s where Jenkins could make a difference.
His defensive schemes should put Turner in better positions to use his length, timing and shot-blocking instincts around the rim. If Milwaukee can simplify Turner’s responsibilities and keep him closer to the basket, there’s no reason he can’t return to being one of the league’s more productive rim protectors.
Two blocks and two threes per game would be a simple statistical benchmark, but it would also represent Turner getting back to the two skills that have always made him such a unique center.
Ambitious goal: Make the All-Defensive Second Team
Somehow, Turner has never earned a spot on either of the NBA’s All-Defensive teams. That’s surprising considering he has led the league in blocks twice, including a whopping 3.4 per game in 2020-21.
If he wants to finally break through, the narrative could be there for him this season.
The Bucks are coming off a disappointing year and will enter the season with relatively low expectations. If they exceed those projections and make a legitimate push toward the postseason, voters will naturally look for explanations.
A resurgent Turner anchoring an improved defense would be a pretty obvious one.
It also helps that All-Defensive voting is now positionless, meaning Turner doesn’t have to compete directly against centers like Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama for a limited number of spots at his position.
Instead, he simply needs to establish himself as one of the ten best defensive players in basketball.
That’s a lofty goal, especially after last season. But Turner has already proven he possesses the tools to impact games at that level.
If Jenkins can unlock the version of Turner Milwaukee thought it was signing last summer, an All-Defensive selection would be the clearest sign yet that his reclamation project was a success.
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