Jun 9, 2026 5:23 PM

If the Bucks move Giannis and shop Myles Turner, Atlanta should pounce. Here's why a Myles Turner trade built around Jonathan Kuminga makes sense for the Hawks.

In the NBA, one trade often leads to another. When a team moves its best player, it usually looks to get full value for the complementary pieces it built around him, too.

Look at the Milwaukee Bucks. They're widely expected to move Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer, and if they do, they'll almost certainly shop Myles Turner as well. There's little reason for a rebuilding team to hold onto a valuable stretch five, and someone will be in the market for him.

Could that someone be the Atlanta Hawks?

Hawks Should Consider a Trade for a Valuable Bucks Player

Granted, 2025-26 wasn't a banner year for Turner. He averaged a modest 11.9 points per game, and though he shot a solid 38.3% from long range, some critics have argued his defensive effort slipped. His appeal has always been that rare 3-and-D big-man skill set.

Then again, Turner's play wasn't Milwaukee's only problem last season; the whole thing seemed to come apart. Defensive effort often depends on team context, and it's fair to wonder whether Turner simply struggled to invest in a team going nowhere.

Can the Hawks offer him a better situation?

Hawks Could Be a Perfect Fit for Turner

Turner was brought to Milwaukee to space the floor for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and a Hawks team built around Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels would value that same spacing at the 5. The basketball fit is clean.

Atlanta was also one of the hottest teams in the NBA after last year's All-Star break, so if Turner needs reinvigorating, the Hawks' collection of young talent could be exactly the environment for it.

Still, it takes two to tango: Atlanta may love the fit, but it would have to give something up. Is there a logical deal here?

Hawks Could Send Bucks a Young Wing

Jonathan Kuminga feels like the obvious choice. Atlanta could exercise his $24.3 million team option and fold him into the deal, and with Turner making roughly $27 million a year, the salaries line up closely enough to make the match work.

That would mean giving up on Kuminga, of course, and for some Hawks fans it'll feel like a carousel; they only just acquired him in the Kristaps Porziņģis trade. Do they want Kuminga, or do they want a stretch five?

It's worth remembering that Porziņģis' inability to stay healthy was the driving force behind moving him, and Kuminga was simply the best asset Atlanta could get back. Now, a wing-heavy roster would do well to flip him for a stretch five it can hopefully count on.

It could be the last move the Hawks need to get this group over the top.

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