The Milwaukee Bucks' plan has been quite simple and obvious.
Whatever the cost, they have to find a way to surround Giannis Antetokounmpo with talent.
Even if that means giving Myles Turner $108 million.
That's what the Bucks did this offseason to give Giannis a running mate, but it's a move that Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley has referred to as reckless.
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Here's how Buckley explained his thinking:
Because the Bucks are perpetually living with the worry Giannis Antetokounmpo could, at any time, decide he's ready for a change, they have to be aggressive when upgrading the roster around him.
That said, there's a difference between aggressiveness and recklessness. And so far, the two-step process of waiving-and-stretching Damian Lillard and the $113 million he's still owed to give Myles Turner a four-year, $108.9 million deal looks like an extreme version of the latter.
Turner is a solid player, and his unicorn blend of shot-blocking and shot-making pairs pretty perfectly with Antetokounmpo. That said, Turner is not a star and has never been mistaken for one. So, to make this big of a bet on him always felt like it was asking for trouble.
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He makes some good points.
At the same time, the market often dictates these things. The Bucks surely didn't pay Turner way above his market value, and they decided they had to have him, so maybe they sweetened the deal in the end a bit to get it done.
Turner isn't a bad player and will remain solid for a while. But it does end up being a pricey move that may not pay off in the end.
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