LAS VEGAS (AP) — Myles Turner wants to keep contending for NBA titles. That’s why he decided to challenge an old cliche, one that he doesn’t think is particularly accurate.
The Milwaukee Bucks formally introduced Turner — the most significant free agent who switched addresses this summer — on Friday. Turner had spent the entirety of his 10-year NBA career with the Indiana Pacers, who went to the NBA Finals this past season and lost Game 7 of the title series to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I hate when they say the grass can’t be greener on the other side,” Turner said. “I’m confident enough to say the grass is going to be greener wherever I go.”
He’ll be greener, anyway: The Bucks have green as their primary uniform color.
“My girlfriend told me I look good in green,” Turner said.
He makes Milwaukee younger and likely a bit more versatile. Brook Lopez, who is 37, was Milwaukee’s starting center this past season. Turner is only 29, and even though he’s played 10 seasons already may now just be coming into his prime.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers is already convinced that pairing Turner — someone Milwaukee was able to get because it used the waive-and-stretch provision on the final two years and $111 million on Damian Lillard’s contract with the team — will work wonders alongside a generational talent like former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“If you could sit down before free agency started and draw the perfect fit next to Giannis, it was a picture of him,” Rivers said, pointing to his new center, seated a couple of feet to his right. “I don’t think people get how hard it is to win enough. Just, people don’t get it. Myles and I started talking about it … and I said, ‘Yeah, winning is hard, man. And it takes everything out of you, and everything has to go right. Health and playing together and the team meshing and the right shot. It just takes so much.’”
The Pacers know that — all too well.
Haliburton had made three quick 3-pointers in Game 7 of the finals, and the score was tied at 16 when he tried to make a move about seven minutes into the first quarter. He blew out his Achilles tendon on the play and will be sidelined for the entirety of the 2025-26 season. And that likely means the Pacers won’t be title-contending next season, which surely played some sort of role in Turner’s decision.
He didn’t get into much of the specifics of his thought process.
”There were alignment issues I think on that side as far as me and them,” Turner said. “Out of respect to their organization, out of respect for this organization. I’m not going to speak on that too much. But again, this was just the best decision for me moving forward.”
Turner averaged 14.1 points and 6.8 rebounds in his 10 seasons with the Pacers.
“We’ve got the best player in the world, we have the best coach in the world, and we have a system in place that can maximize Giannis’ talent, and now we have the best counterpart next to him that maximizes talent even more,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said. “And that’s the whole reason why we’ve done what we’ve done, and what we’re going to continue to do each and every time we get the chance.”
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
