The curious case for Myles Turner as Walker Kessler's replacement

A few days ago, The J-Notes' Dan Lower brought up Kel'El Ware as a potential Walker Kessler replacement, noting that Ware could be an option for the Utah Jazz as the Milwaukee Bucks still have Myles Turner as their starting center. It's not a bad idea, but honestly, why is Turner even on the Bucks in the first place?

Trading Giannis Antetokounmpo signaled the team starting a new era, which means it's probably in their best interest to see their young talent through. It wouldn't be surprising at all if Turner is back on the trade block once the Bucks embrace their rebuild, though it might not be right away with how bad their situation is.

If Turner is available, he would be a flawed, unorthdox, but potentially fantastic replacement for Kessler.

With Kessler gone, the Jazz's defense raises so many questions, even with Jaren Jackson Jr. included. Outside of him, Utah has players with the potential to be plus-defenders, but nothing all that concrete. Losing Kessler was one thing, but oh boy, the Jazz's defense has enough holes for many to believe it's the NBA equivalent of Swiss cheese.

It's not like Turner solves their problems by himself, but when he's at the top of his game, he has proven himself to be a useful piece on a playoff team with his floor-spacing and rim protection.

If Turner returns to form, he has a lot of appeal to the Jazz

Let the record show that Turner is coming off a pretty awful season in Milwaukee. His numbers went way, way down. However, one could argue that his decline was a product of joining the sinking ship in Wisconsin, and that there was nothing anyone could have done.

This season, Milwaukee is starting fresh, with a new coach and new faces. Even if they sure as hell won't be good, there's a chance for the team to form an identity that they simply couldn't last year. If Turner can prove that last season was an aberration at the very least, he would have a lot more appeal to Utah as a trade target.

Turner is still an excellent floor-spacer who could form an excellent inside-out game with Keyonte George and Darryn Peterson. Not to mention, the Jazz could go five-out with him, JJJ, and Lauri Markkanen. They could do that for however long they want.

On defense, he and JJJ on paper would give the Jazz some excellent all-around defense between the two of them. It would take more than just them, but it would make Utah's defense all the harder to score on with the two of them down there.

The one downside is Turner's paltry rebounding numbers for someone his size. Turner's never been good and is coming off a season where it was worse than ever this past season, averaging 5.3 rebounds. However, he and Jackson together with their defensive presence could negate that with how many shots they could alter.

Rebouding might not be a problem with that much shot-blocking between the two of them.

Like I said, Turner on the Jazz would be flawed but fantastic *only* if he is plays at the level he did before he joined the Bucks.

His contract would be the biggest hurdle

The biggest problem with Turner would be his massive contract that will pay him shy of $30 million per year for the next three years. Considering Kessler makes only a tad more than Turner does, acquiring the latter would make many wonder why Utah didn't simply keep Kessler to begin with.

Utah would make a move like this if they are 100% confident Turner is the last piece of their title puzzle. At the moment, we don't know if he would be until we get to see what the Jazz look like with what looks to be their current roster.

If Utah looks for a big man upgrade in due time, they may turn to cheaper options or may even turn to players whose flaws would not potentially make their roster holes look worse. Turner is far from perfect player, but he might just be the perfect one to replace Kessler even if their skillsets are quite different.

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