Myles Turner may be untradeable post-Giannis albatross

The Bucks won both games, but the stage for season-long disappointment was set. Turner didn’t post his first double-double until his 16th contest and ended up with just four all season. He averaged a career-low 5.3 rebounds and posted 11.9 points, his lowest clip since his rookie season. Turner shot a career-low 44 percent and was more of a jump shooter than ever before despite Giannis Antetokounmpo's extended absence. 

“Get Myles Turner off my team” is understandable, but for that to even happen in the foreseeable future, Bucks fans ironically need to root for him harder than anyone else.

After his awful season, Turner pissed off Milwaukee fans further by airing the team’s dirty laundry out on his “Game Recognize Game” podcast alongside New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart. The pod, which was launched in late January amid his rough run, made news this offseason when Turner revealed his new team had regularly tuned out Doc Rivers, stating, “guys were late all the time.” After Rivers stepped down, Turner criticized the lack of discipline he saw after spending nearly a decade in Indiana.

Given how disappointing Turner’s season was, it’s understandable some felt he hadn’t earned the right to point fingers. Still, he’s a veteran who has seen quite a bit in this game, entering the NBA in 2015 as a teenager. Now 30 years old, he’s done a lot of winning, played in an NBA Finals, and is still young enough to have a bounce-back season. 

All that makes Turner one of the most important Bucks in 2026-27, if for no other reason than he’s not really tradeable given his salary unless he has a resurgent first few months. Turner was signed as a last-ditch effort to appease Antetokounmpo after Damian Lillard was waived and stretched. On paper, it was a solid move to help replace Brook Lopez with a better, younger shot blocker who could stretch the floor. 

It weakened a rival, the defending Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers, but cost $108.9 million on a four-year deal that features a player option for ‘28-’29. Unless Turner begins turning things around, his deal is going to be an albatross. It carries a 15 percent trade kicker. He’ll be making nearly $26.6 million this coming season and is now arguably the most important veteran on the roster with Giannis and Bobby Portis gone, so it would be a massive setback if he’s not useful.

Kel’el Ware is the Bucks’ new most vital frontcourt piece, but he just turned 22 and will need to get acclimated to his new surroundings. He’ll need a mentor, which is a role Turner is well-equipped to play. Bam Adebayo set a strong foundation for Ware, but those around Miami will tell you it didn’t lead to the young 7-footer consistently playing hard enough to reach his potential. Maybe Turner can aid the cause with a different approach. 

Between setting a strong example for rookie lottery pick Nate Ament and all the arrivals from Miami, there are plenty of players Turner can help in his second season. On the floor, proving he can still be a difference-maker in a frontcourt where he’ll be relied on more extensively by new head coach Taylor Jenkins would make him more of a commodity. 

Jenkins had a lot of success in Memphis with Jaren Jackson Jr., whose game has similarities at both ends of the floor to Turner’s, so the hope is he’ll hit the ground running with another fresh start. Offseason speculation has centered around potentially moving Turner and Kyle Kuzma to further facilitate a rebuild, but Kuzma’s expiring contract ($20.49M) is far easier to move. New arrivals Tyler Herro ($33M) and Caris LeVert ($14.8M) are in the same boat in what sets up as a transition year post-Giannis.

If those guys don’t fit, the “get off my team” mandate will be easy to accommodate prior to the trade deadline. Turner, barring something unforeseen, is likely to be around and needs to fare much better to be potentially attractive to another team next offseason.