The Milwaukee Bucks are off to a 1-9 start, putting them dead last in the Eastern Conference.

There is plenty of blame to go around for their record through the first ten games with multiple players underperforming, the team looking lost at certain times on the floor, and the roster just not being good enough at the moment.

The Bucks have the 24th ranked offense and 29th ranked defense.

While the struggles of the Bucks can’t be boiled down to one player, there is no doubt that Myles Turner has not helped their cause.

Turner is averaging 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists on 34% shooting from the field and 26% from three. It’s the first time in his career he hasn’t averaged double-digit points.

He is averaging 2.5 blocks per game, his highest numbers since 2021-22, and remains an elite rim protector, though the Bucks’ lack of perimeter defense is giving him plenty of opportunities.

The Issue with Turner isn’t necessarily his play. The Bucks are a bad basketball team by most metrics, but they’re better with Turner on the floor than with him off, which isn’t saying much.

They have a -11 net rating with him on the floor and a -15.1 net rating with him off. His backup, Kel’el Ware, might have better counting stats (Ware is averaging 8.6 points and 6.9 rebounds), but the Bucks have a -15.5 net rating with him and a -11.3 net rating with him off.

Some of that comes down to Ware playing with backups.

If you inserted Ware into the starting lineup alongside Tyler Herro, Brayden Burries, Kyle Kuzma, and Jamie Jaquez Jr., the Bucks have a +6 net rating compared to a -2.4 net rating with Turner in that lineup. The sample size with Turner is much bigger; 44 minutes compared to ten minutes.

Still, putting Ware in the starting lineup isn’t going to turn Milwaukee into a 40-win team.

The real issue with Turner is his contract.

Milwaukee signed him to a four-year, $108 million deal from the Indiana Pacers after he helped the Pacers make the Finals, hoping that he could be a strong second next to Giannis Antetokounmpo.

It didn’t work out, and now Turner is the second-highest-paid player on the team with two years and a player option remaining.

Ideally, the Bucks could move on from Turner, but his contract makes him difficult to trade unless they attach draft capital or take on a similar bad contract or two. Finding a team willing to take on his contract combined with his declining play is going to be easier said than done.