The Boston Celtics frontcourt was perceived as a problem heading into the 2025-26 season. In the regular season, it wasn't. In the postseason, it definitely was. More than anything, it was clear Joe Mazzulla didn't know who to trust. Warts and all, it's situations like those that make the prospect of a Myles Turner trade suddenly seem so enticing to Boston.
Before the ensuing "HELL NO!" from Celtics Nation, keep in mind that the Celtics just lost a winnable series with a lot of having to do with them having absolutely no answer for Joel Embiid. More than that, none of the Celtics big could consistently get into a rhythm on either side of the floor.
Neemias Queta put up his best performance in the last game of the season, but it was his struggles that played a huge role in why Boston got themselves into the predicament that led to their downfall. It also calls into question if he's really their center of the future.
Nikola Vucevic and Luka Garza had their moments of apt basketball, but again, it wasn't consistent to the point where even by the end, it was downright confusing what Mazzulla was trying to do with them.
For all the questions that would come with someone like Turner, something that's undeniable is that he was the starting center on an Indiana Pacers team that was a Tyrese Haliburton Achilles tear away from winning a title.
Turner wasn't their best player, or even among their best, but he was a respected center who held up his end as they made their first NBA Finals appearance in 25 years. Would Turner have stopped Embiid? No, but he would have been a consistent two-way force on both ends that the Sixers had to respect from start to finish.
You couldn't say the same thing about Boston's frontcourt.
Turner's problems with Milwaukee may not have been on him
Earlier in the season, it seemed apparent that the Celtics were in a better spot with their big men than the Bucks were when the two sides met up. Queta had badly outplayed Turner in their matchups. However, that may have had more to do with the Bucks' dysfunction coinciding with the Celtics being the opposite, making Turner look worse than he really was.
Turner looked bad in those matchups (even the one where Milwaukee won), but Milwaukee remains one of the NBA's most helpless franchises with no hope of improvement unless they do the one thing everyone knows they should do. It turns out that someone like Turner can't really stop a sinking ship like the Milwaukee Bucks.
Really, when you think about it, would the Bucks have been better with Queta as their starting center on that roster than with Turner? Would the Celtics have been worse with Turner as their starting center on their roster than with Queta?
Yes, the idea of Myles Turner - a shot-blocker, lob threat, and floor spacing big man - has always been better than the actual Myles Turner, but that doesn't mean the actual Myles Turner wouldn't help the Celtics.
Boston just learned in the harshest way possible that their frontcourt was weak enough to hurt their chances of advancing past the first round. Many will squirm at the thought of them running it back, so even after how disappointing Turner was in Milwaukee, he would make sense.
To that very point, he could also probably be had for very little. Boston has a $27.7 million TPE, and Turner happens to make just a little under $27 million. If he can be had for nothing, why would the Celtics say no?
Unless there's someone better who Boston could realistically attain, Turner is their best bet.
Add us as a preferred source on Google