The Milwaukee Bucks already had a chance to act on a Warriors phone call, and passing on it is starting to look shortsighted.
According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Nick Friedell, Golden State reached out about a trade for veteran center Kristaps Porzingis, but Milwaukee had no interest. The idea on the other side of that equation was clear: Myles Turner would be a strong fit for the Warriors, and the Bucks’ sluggish start from Turner is making it harder to see why they’d be so committed to keeping him.
Turner is only four games into the season, but the opening numbers haven’t done Milwaukee any favors. He’s averaging 7.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks, while shooting 36.7/23.5/100. For the second-highest-paid player on the roster, that’s not the kind of start that makes a pricey contract easier to move.
And Turner still has three years left on the four-year, $108 million deal he signed, which only adds to the challenge. If the Bucks ever decide to shop him, his value could take another hit if this slow start keeps going. That’s why the decision point is so tricky: take what’s in front of you now, or hold out and hope the market gets better.
There’s also a reason Milwaukee would make sense as a landing spot for Porzingis in this kind of deal. The move wouldn’t really be about basketball alone.
The hope would be that Golden State includes draft capital, especially with Porzingis rethinking his basketball career while he continues to deal with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). With the Bucks’ cap room and Turner already in place as a possible replacement, they’d be a natural trade partner.
At 30, Turner would also appear to be a clean fit for what the Warriors want on both ends of the floor. But if his play doesn’t bounce back soon, Milwaukee could get stuck with a difficult choice and a weaker return in draft capital than it might get by moving earlier.
That decision matters even more because Kel’el Ware has already given the Bucks something real to build on.
Ware was the blue-chip prospect Milwaukee hoped to land in any Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, and he’s backing up that buzz. His preseason form has carried over, and he’s averaging 13.3 points and 8.5 rebounds on 56.8/25.0/66.7 shooting in fewer than 20 minutes per game.
He still hasn’t started, and Milwaukee clearly values Turner’s leadership and believes he can still help despite the rough opening stretch. The front office also paid a steep price to get Turner in the first place, waiving and stretching Damian Lillard’s contract to make the move possible. That kind of investment could make the Bucks hesitant to pivot too quickly.
Even so, the early signs have been encouraging for Milwaukee overall, and Ware stands out as one of them. He can keep learning from Turner, but the way his season has started makes it feel like the starting job may eventually belong to the former Heat big. If Turner is moved, Jericho Sims and Pete Nance are also there as serviceable options behind Ware, but giving Ware the runway to play freely could unlock even more.
Golden State could always come back later as it keeps trying to squeeze every last bit out of Stephen Curry’s prime. If the Warriors eventually put real draft capital on the table along with Porzingis for Turner, Milwaukee should think hard about taking it - and about what it could mean for Ware in the starting five.
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The complication is simple enough. Kuzma is on an expiring contract, which means his improved play could raise his value just as Milwaukee begins weighing whether to keep him or move him for help elsewhere. A contender such as the Golden State Warriors could make sense as a theoretical landing spot, but that kind of scenario depends on Kuzma sustaining this level and the Bucks deciding his fit is more useful as an asset than as a rotation piece. For now, his surge has made him one of the more interesting names on Milwaukees deadline board. [Read more 🡒]