Milwaukee wants to be taken seriously in the Eastern Conference, but its latest move was questionable.
Damian Lillard suffered a blood clot and an Achilles injury last season.
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The veteran point guard for the Bucks missed out on a playoff opportunity with the injury, but now he is no longer in Milwaukee. Lillard got traded for Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers, who nearly captured an NBA Championship.
Turner, 29, was a former first-round pick of the 2015 NBA Draft. He averaged 15.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, while posting a career-high 39.6 percent shooting from 3-point range. Turner led the league for blocks in 2019 and 2021.
Bill Simmons of The Ringer podcast did not think it made sense for Milwaukee to get Turner.
He feels like the Bucks need to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“I hated it. I don’t understand it. I think it’s a disaster.”@BillSimmons doesn’t get what the Bucks are doing AT ALL … and if these were the only moves they had up their sleeve, he thinks they might as well have traded Giannis. pic.twitter.com/u9E3TN92TN
— The Ringer (@ringer) July 2, 2025
“I hated it,” Simmons said about the Bucks getting Turner.
“I don’t understand it. I think it’s a disaster. I thought what Milwaukee did was one of the most desperate, reckless moves that I can ever remember since I’ve been a basketball fan. I did not approve of it in any single aspect.”
The fact that the Bucks stretched out Lillard’s situation for five years and then trade him for Turner was idiotic for Simmons.
He does not understand why Milwaukee does not go about trading Antetokounmpo. The “Greek Freak” has made it known he wants to continue his career with the Bucks, but is the organization putting him in the best spot to win chamionships?
Simmons does not think so.
“If it is this desperate that you are going to pay for the next four years $47 million, $49 million, $50 million, and $51 million for Myles Turner. … If that is the only recourse you have, if that is how desperate you are to keep Giannis … I am trading Giannis,” Simmons said.
WATCH: Bucks’ Damian Lillard progressing in Achilles tendon recovery
Simmons does not feel Milwaukee is a top-four team in the Eastern Conference with this move.
We will see how Turner works out, but one member of the media is not feeling it.
Stephen M. Smith is a writer for Ball Exclusives. You can follow him on X via @CoachingMSmith.
