I think every decision, every move that you make, has risk and reward, so there\u2019s nothing unique about that in this case. We looked at the opportunity to acquire a highly productive, elite free agent, who is in the prime of his career, and who is an incredible fit next to Giannis, as an opportunity for these next two seasons in particular, instead of what would have been Dame on our books at a full salary, as really opportunistic, more than anything.<\/p>\n
The carry for the following three years, there\u2019s no question that if you want to call it an impediment or another hurdle, that\u2019s fine. But we were dealing with a really big hurdle and complication that we had to figure out how to deal with now, and the now matters more than anything. Maximizing Giannis\u2019 prime, our opportunities to win, I feel like that\u2019s our responsibility always. So it was really a now versus future decision.<\/p>\n
That being said, Myles is an incredible player in the prime of his career for four years. So four of those five years, we have Myles Turner, so it wasn\u2019t like we just did something now and then we have to take four years of risk beyond this year and four years of carry without any production. We have four years, at least, of Myles Turner at elite production while that\u2019s on our books. And there (are) other things that we did, there (are) other moves that we made, other players we\u2019re able to acquire because of this move now that I believe will outweigh the carry of the 20-plus million dollars that we have.<\/p>\n
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Bucks general manager Jon Horst says the team\u2019s priority remains maximizing Giannis Antetokounmpo\u2019s prime. (Stacy Revere \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
You mentioned the move being opportunistic. I\u2019d guess two weeks before free agency got underway as the Indiana Pacers were playing in the NBA Finals, you didn\u2019t imagine that Myles Turner would be available to you or anyone else. When did you feel like you might have a chance to add Turner?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think the strategy existed for us in a very honest way. It\u2019s unfortunate what happened at the end of our season. So the strategy was something in consideration for us, amongst many other different strategies that we were exploring and internally navigating and vetting to create cap space. And there were different ways you could do it. You could do it via trade. You could do it via the waive and stretch. You could utilize our really beneficial position relative to the tax this year, as compared to past years.<\/p>\n We went into the offseason saying that, besides Detroit and Brooklyn at the time, we had as much flexibility as anybody else, and we actually had tradable draft picks and we had tradable contracts, and so this was not an offseason where we were completely up against the wall. It was an offseason where we had a lot of different avenues to pursue and explore. And so this was one that we were always exploring. And Myles has always been a target.<\/p>\n But their unfortunate circumstance, the timing of ours, the timing of theirs \u2026 as we started thinking about it internally, I\u2019m like, this could be a reality. So we should drill into this path a little bit more. What does this look like? What are the other moves we\u2019d have to do subsequently to make it work? The strategy itself was kind of always there, something we\u2019ve been always looking at, but I think him as a target and a realistic target culminated with the (Tyrese Haliburton) injury that they suffered. And that\u2019s the unfortunate thing in our business. That happens, and then you have to look for opportunities to pivot and address the needs that you have because of it. And that\u2019s what we did.<\/p>\n Because of Turner\u2019s age and ability, it feels like you should be able to do things differently from a play-style standpoint next season. How do you feel like Turner can be an agent of change in that regard?<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the things that I love about the acquisition for us \u2014 one of many things \u2014 is there\u2019s no question that it opens up things for us to do differently. But, largely, it allows us to be the same in the ways that we\u2019ve been really great also. We\u2019ve been a team because of Giannis\u2019 style of play and Doc\u2019s style of play and the way that I love the game of basketball, we\u2019ve always spaced the floor, we move the ball, we shoot a lot of 3s, and Giannis thrives in that.<\/p>\n And so Myles is a great floor spacer. We love to be big and physical and defend the rim, and Myles does that. He\u2019s elite at defending the rim. And I think that we needed to grow in our perimeter speed and our perimeter ability to navigate the pick-and-roll game, which is such a big part of the NBA now. To have multiple switch defenders on the floor. To play faster offensively and defensively in transition. And I think Myles adds that, as does Bobby (Portis) in a bigger, more important role for us than I think that he\u2019s ever been in.<\/p>\n I think that is one of the things that\u2019s a little bit undertold is keeping Bobby and letting Bobby play in the way he played near the end of the season. He\u2019s really increased his shot speed. I mean, he really gets rid of the ball quicker. His shot quality has really improved. He understands he can dominate around the rim, rebound the basketball, shoot the ball on the perimeter.<\/p>\n Jericho (Sims) was one of the best switch defenders in the playoffs. He\u2019s got a limited, limited sample, but I believe that he can do it. He\u2019s an elite rim protector. He\u2019s big, he\u2019s physical, he\u2019s athletic. I think the core four of those guys as a frontcourt is as good as anybody. And I think that it\u2019s largely the way that we\u2019ve been dominant in that space over 10 years. But I also think it gives us a chance to modernize and catch up in some of the other areas as well.<\/p>\n