The Giannis Antetokounmpo saga is finally over (took 'em long enough), which means the biggest domino of the offseason has fallen. All that remains is what comes next. In the Milwaukee Bucks' case, they may turn to players they could trade away, like Myles Turner. The Boston Celtics could target Turner, but he would have made more sense if he came in the Giannis deluxe package.
HoopsHype's Michael Scotto floated Boston as a team that could go after Turner following the Antetokounmpo deal, though it didn't sound like he was necessarily reporting anything.
"Turner has always known that if Antetokounmpo was ever traded, he’d be a strong trade candidate, HoopsHype has learned. During his Pacers tenure, Turner was linked to the Hornets, Pelicans, and Lakers in trade rumors at various points. Those teams could all make sense now, and possibly the Celtics," Scotto wrote.
Boston's frontcourt had proven to more of a problem than we all thought going into the postseason, which is why many believe their biggest priority is an upgrade. Turner is coming off a terrible season, but one could argue his production was a product of his environment on a hapless Bucks team.
But even then, he is still on a very expensive contract coming off his worst season in years. Boston would be banking on him returning to the production he had in Indiana. He may be one year removed from being the starting center on a team that made the NBA Finals, but his value fell so hard that it feels like an unnecessary risk to add him to the roster.
Now, if Turner had come as part of the Giannis package, that would make more sense because Turner, a laughably poor rebounder for his size, would have had that negated by being paired next to Giannis and Jayson Tatum. Plus, his floor spacing is taken seriously enough to open the lane for Giannis and Tatum.
But with Giannis in South Beach, the risk weighs more than the potential reward. If Boston pulls the trigger on that, there would be a solid rationale to do so, but it would come with so many questions.
Celtics could use a floor-spacing two-way big man though
Adding a floor-spacing big man who also provides excellent defense is a good idea for Boston for what it's worth. Turner currently just does not hold that much appeal in that regard after the season he just had and with the money he's owed over the next three years.
But Boston has benefited big time from having that exact archetype with Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. They don't necessarily need the exact same player archetype as either of those two, but having at least one big who has those two specific qualities has given Boston a boost.
Turner might be the easiest player to acquire among the few who fit this mold, but it should be intriguing to see who Boston specifically targets.
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