We already looked at four possible Kel’el Ware trades earlier this week after Kevin O’Connor’s reporting said that rival executives already see the Milwaukee Bucks as a team worth calling because they own two of the hardest things to find in the NBA: centers who can protect the rim and shoot threes. O’Connor named the Celtics, Knicks, Lakers, Pistons, Raptors, 76ers, and Timberwolves as teams that should have interest, while also noting Myles Turner is probably the more realistic one to move because Ware actually fits the post-Giannis timeline.
The former Heat center is 22, costs only $4.7 million, and came over in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade as one of the young pieces they’re supposed to actually develop. Turner is 30, makes $26.6 million, and was signed for a completely different version of this team when they made that Hail Mary signing to try and entice Giannis into staying. So, at this point of their rebuild, it’s only right to try shipping Turner somewhere else.
I understand why they couldn’t find a great market this offseason, still. Turner wasn’t great last year, finishing at 11.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.6 blocks while shooting only 44.0% from the field, but the 38.3% from three on 5.4 attempts still matters a lot. He’s also only one year removed from being the starting center on a Finals team, has led the league in blocks twice, and his contract isn’t crazy for a starting center at $26.6 million this year, $27.9 million next year, and a $29.1 million player option for 2028-29.
So if the Bucks are sitting around 12th in the East by January, I’d absolutely listen. I wouldn’t dump Turner for two random seconds just because he’s older than Ware, but there are definitely teams where I think he’d look way better than he does on this weird Milwaukee roster. These are the four I like most.
4. Boston Celtics
I know Boston literally just paid Mitchell Robinson, so this one feels a little greedy, but Turner next to this version of the Celtics makes way too much sense for me to ignore.
The Celtics went 56-26 last season, finished second in the East, had the No. 2 offense and No. 4 defense, and then somehow blew a 3-1 lead to the 76ers in the first round. They’ve already changed the roster since then, moving Brown for Paul George, signing Robinson, and bringing Jayson Tatum back after he only played 16 games last season following the Achilles injury.
Robinson is good at what he does. He gave the Knicks 5.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks last season while shooting 72.3% from the field, and Boston just gave him three years and $47.4 million. But he has attempted basically no threes in his NBA career, and that’s where I’d rather have Turner if I’m trying to build the best possible lineup around Tatum, George, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard.
Turner made 2.1 threes per game last season. Robinson made zero. That sounds stupidly simple, but with Boston it actually matters because this team has spent years trying to put shooting everywhere around Tatum. If Turner is standing 25 feet from the rim, his defender can’t just sit in the paint waiting for Tatum or George, and you still have a center who blocked 1.6 shots per game.
I’d trust Turner in a playoff series too. He started every game for the Pacers during their Finals run in 2025, so we already know he can play deep into May and June without becoming some massive Jalen Duren-type problem. That’s a pretty different conversation from hoping Robinson stays healthy for four straight playoff rounds when he’s played more than 60 games only once since 2019-20.
The issue is money. Boston already has around $203.9 million committed this season, Robinson makes $15.0 million, and Turner makes $26.6 million, so this isn’t some easy straight swap. The Celtics would have to send another salary, and Milwaukee would probably ask for a pick because Turner is the better player.
If the price is Robinson, another smaller contract, and a protected first, though, I’d seriously think about it. Tatum, George, White, and Turner is a ridiculous amount of shooting without giving up rim protection.
3. Minnesota Timberwolves
This one would be more aggressive because Rudy Gobert is still a really good player, but I think Turner might fit the new Wolves offense better. And, in certain lineups, both could play together, as Turner could fill some of the role Naz Reid had that Minnesota hasn’t really filled.
Gobert had another great regular season last year, putting up 10.9 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks, making the All-Defensive First Team, and finishing fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. The Wolves went 49-33, beat the Nuggets in six games, and then lost to the Spurs in six in the second round, so I’m not sitting here saying Gobert was the problem.
But the roster changed a ton this summer: Randle and Reid are gone, LaMelo Ball is running point, Jonathan Kuminga is starting at forward, and Minnesota is suddenly trying to play a much faster, more open style around Ball and Anthony Edwards. Ball already had 14 points and seven assists in Wednesday’s preseason loss, and you could see how much easier the offense looks when he’s throwing the ball ahead instead of everybody walking into half-court sets.
A Ball-Edwards-Kuminga-McDaniels-Turner lineup gives you five guys who can at least do something away from the rim, and Turner shooting 38.3% from three is a massive change from Gobert, who basically doesn’t shoot outside the paint. Edwards just put up 28.8 points last season while shooting 39.9% from three, so giving him even more room to get downhill sounds pretty nasty.
I’d definitely like to see both bigs play together, but Gobert’s salary would just have to be the main piece outgoing. I’d miss Gobert’s rebounding and defense, because Turner grabbed only 5.3 boards last season and that number is honestly pretty bad for a 6-foot-11 center. I’m not going to pretend he’s just Gobert with a jumper. He isn’t. Gobert is better defensively, better on the glass, and was still one of the best regular-season defenders.
But Minnesota also watched Gobert fall to 7.2 points and 9.3 rebounds in the playoffs while shooting 47.4% from the line, and the offense gets easier to load up against when one player basically never leaves the dunker spot. Turner gives up something defensively, but he also makes the Ball-Edwards pairing much easier to build around.
Gobert makes $36.5 million this season and $38.0 million next year, while Turner is at $26.6 million and $27.9 million before his option. Minnesota probably needs a third team because I don’t know why a rebuilding Bucks team would want Gobert, but from the Wolves’ side, I’d absolutely explore it. I wouldn’t attach some huge pick package, but if they can turn Gobert into Turner without killing what little draft flexibility they have left, I like the fit.
2. New York Knicks
For me, Turner only really makes sense for the Knicks if the Karl-Anthony Towns contract situation keeps getting more and more uncertain. Towns is making $57.0 million this season, has a $61.1 million player option for 2027-28, and can chase a massive new deal, while New York clearly doesn’t want to get dragged into the second apron. Towns also has a fair argument after helping them win the title, so I don’t think this gets solved easily.
Towns is eligible for roughly four years and $276.0 million on an extension, while the Knicks have reportedly been closer to four years and $200.0 million. That’s a massive gap, and Towns has already made it pretty obvious that he thinks New York is asking him to give up way too much money.
He gave the Knicks 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds last season, made another All-Star team, and then put up 15.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists during their championship run, so asking him to leave around $75.0 million on the table is a pretty wild request, which leaves three realistic outcomes: Towns takes less, hits free agency, or eventually gets traded. If the Knicks start thinking the third one is more likely, I’d rather move him before risking losing him for nothing, and Turner would be a really interesting replacement.
He isn’t close to Towns offensively, but he does give New York some of the same spacing at a way lower price. Turner shot 38.3% from three last season on 5.4 attempts per game, added 1.6 blocks, and makes $26.6 million this year with $27.9 million guaranteed next season. Compared with paying Towns somewhere around $50 to $60 million per year, that difference is massive.
The deal would probably need a third team because I don’t see Milwaukee wanting Towns on a post-Giannis roster. The cleaner idea is Towns going to another contender, that team sending younger assets or picks to the Bucks, and Turner ending up with the Knicks. I wouldn’t force the Pistons into it now that Duren has been extended, but that’s basically the type of structure I’d look for.
And honestly, the money saved might be just as important as Turner himself. Josh Hart and Miles McBride both have contract situations the Knicks need to figure out too, and I wouldn’t want New York solving the Towns issue by losing more core pieces around Brunson. If Turner lets them stay competitive, keep spacing at center, improve the rim protection, and avoid another monster contract, I’d absolutely look into it.
1. Toronto Raptors
This is the one I’d watch hardest because O’Connor basically called out Toronto’s center spot directly, and I think he’s right. The Raptors won 46 games and finished fifth in the East last season, then decided that apparently wasn’t enough and brought Kawhi Leonard back by sending out Ingram, Dick, picks, and a swap. So this isn’t some young team patiently waiting three years anymore. Leonard is 35, Scottie Barnes is already a two-time All-Star, and Toronto is clearly trying to win right now.
The starting five as it stands is basically Quickley, Barrett, Leonard, Barnes, and Jakob Poeltl. That’s good, but the spacing gets weird because Barnes shot only 30.4% from three last season and Poeltl literally doesn’t shoot them. If those two are sharing the floor, defenses have a pretty obvious place to bring help from, but if you replace Poeltl with Turner, the lineup has almost no weaknesses at all.
Barnes finished at 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.5 blocks last season while shooting 50.7% from the field, and I’d much rather give him space to bully smaller defenders than ask him to become a 38.0% three-point shooter overnight. Turner standing outside the paint makes that easier, while Leonard obviously benefits from the same thing after putting up 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists last season before returning to the Raptors.
Poeltl is good too, and I don’t want to make him sound terrible. He gave Toronto 10.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists while shooting 70.0% from the field last season. But he played only 46 games because of the back issue, blocked just 0.7 shots per game, and now has four years and $104.0 million on his new deal. O’Connor specifically questioned whether that contract makes sense for a center who doesn’t shoot and doesn’t give them much vertical offense.
The salaries are also close enough that this doesn’t need to become some giant five-player mess. Poeltl makes $19.5 million this season before jumping to $27.3 million next year, while Turner is at $26.6 million and $27.9 million. Toronto would need to add salary this season, but we’re talking about a gap that can actually be fixed.
If the Bucks eventually ask for Poeltl plus a protected first, I’d do it. Yeah, Turner was bad last season by his standards. Yeah, he only grabbed 5.3 rebounds. I still think a Quickley-Barrett-Leonard-Barnes-Turner lineup is way scarier than the version with Poeltl because Turner can protect the rim without completely shrinking the floor. And for a team that just brought Leonard back at 35, I’m not worried about saving every future pick forever. You’re trying to win now.
Final Take
I’d be pretty surprised if Turner finishes this entire season with the Bucks unless they’re way better than expected. Ware fits the rebuild, Turner really doesn’t, and O’Connor is already hearing rival executives talk about Milwaukee’s centers before the regular season has even started.
The Raptors are easily my favorite destination because the need is obvious, the contract matching isn’t insane, and Turner fixes the exact thing I don’t like about their starting five. The Knicks are probably the coolest basketball fit, the Wolves make sense if they decide spacing matters more than keeping Gobert, and Boston is the kind of team where Turner would probably look way better just because everybody around him can shoot and defend.
Turner is still 30, he’s under contract beyond this season, he shot 38.3% from three last year, and he was starting in the Finals one season ago. If he bounces back during the first two months, Milwaukee should be asking for a real asset, not just salary relief and two random seconds. And if I’m Toronto, I’d probably be the first team calling.