What led to the Bucks decision to waive Damian Lillard?
Bucks reporter Jim Owczarski discusses what led to the Bucks decision to waive Damian Lillard, enabling them to sign Myles Turner.
Myles Turner is having his introductory press conference as the newest member of the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday in Las Vegas.Turner signed a massive four-year contract to join Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks this offseason.The 6-foot-11 center had played his entire 10-year career with the Indiana Pacers, who are one of the Bucks’ biggest rivals.
On the same day he officially said goodbye to the Indiana Pacers, Myles Turner is saying hello to the Milwaukee Bucks.
And he’s bringing his sense of humor to Milwaukee.
“What’s up, y’all?” he said in a video posted to the Bucks’ social media accounts on July 11. “It’s Myles Turner checking in to the Cream City. I’m excited to join the organization, man. And it’s been quite some time, and good news, man, I don’t hate y’all no more.”
“Baby, it’s love.”
Bucks fans will likely love him right back when they see a player they previously cheered hard against start blocking shots, knocking down three-pointers and throwing down powerful dunks on the opposition.
Turner, 29, was officially introduced as the newest member of the Bucks at his introductory press conference July 11 in Las Vegas, the site of the Bucks’ summer league.
The 6-foot-11-inch center had spent his entire career with the Pacers and had become a thorn in the Bucks’ side in recent seasons.
Turner, a defensive stopper around the rim who can stretch the floor as an athletic big man, helped the Pacers eliminate the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs the last two years. And finally in his 10th season in Indy, Turner reached the top of the Eastern Conference after the Pacers went on a magical run to the NBA Finals.
But Turner, who was the Pacers’ longest tenured player on their roster, shocked the basketball world when he left Indiana this offseason to join the rival Bucks.
“Saying goodbye is never easy, especially so abruptly,” Turner wrote in a statement on social media about leaving the Pacers. “… Together we’ve experienced the highest of highs and some of the toughest lows. All of it, the good and the bad has shaped me into who I am today and those memories can never be taken from us.”
Turner, though, is now set to make new memories in the Cream City.