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After being dealt from Atlanta to Cleveland this time last year, De'Andre Hunter has once again proven to be a prominent name on this season's trade market. He has also generated interest from the Bucks, with sources saying that Milwaukee has offered Kyle Kuzma and/or Bobby Portis Jr. in various frameworks. Yet those discussions began before the Bucks began fielding trade pitches in earnest for Antetokounmpo.
Milwaukee has tried to operate as a buyer in the trade market but has not moved forward with a transaction due to the uncertainty around Antetokounmpo's future and the team's limited mobility to make a major move. Forwards Bobby Portis and Kyle Kuzma are the main names the Bucks have discussed in trade talks while keeping their one tradeable first-round pick (2031 or 2032) off the table unless it is moved for a no-brainer superstar, according to sources. At the draft in June, the Bucks will have their pick that night plus the 2031 and 2033 selections to move in trades.
Chances are slim that Milwaukee would part with its only tradable first-round pick, league sources said. Instead, it could aim to acquire a distressed asset, using Kyle Kuzma’s $22.4 million and/or Bobby Portis’ $13.4 million salaries to add a player of consequence, someone who makes above his market value (which is why his team would trade him) but brings in firepower.
Eric Nehm: FINAL: Sixers 139, Bucks 122 - Turner 31pts/4reb/3ast - Rollins 24pts/8reb/4ast - Portis 17pts/12reb/8ast - Kuzma 17pts/8reb/8ast - Trent 13pts - Anthony 10pts The Bucks are now 18-27 (12th in East) on the season. They play next in DC on Thursday.
League sources say that the Bucks, frankly, were already struggling to generate difference-making trade discussions by making the likes of Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis Jr. available. Brooklyn's Porter, Sacramento's Zach LaVine, Cleveland's De'Andre Hunter, Portland's Jerami Grant and Charlotte's Miles Bridges have all been mentioned as potential targets, but the Bucks' lack of available draft capital to sweeten trade offers has clearly complicated the search for reinforcements.
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Oh No He Didn't: Bobby Portis on conversations he's had with Giannis: "He's taking it a day at a time...still trying to get wins, still trying to build camaraderie with the group we're with and what happens happens"
Eric Nehm: FINAL: Bucks 112, Hawks 110 - Giannis Antetokounmpo 21pts/17reb/6ast - Bobby Portis 19pts/3reb - AJ Green 18pts/3reb - Myles Turner 14pts/8reb - Ryan Rollins 14pts/3reb/3ast - Kyle Kuzma 10pts - Kevin Porter 9pts/6reb/7ast The Bucks are now 18-24 on the season. They next play the Thunder on Wednesday at home.
The Bucks, meanwhile, have gauged the trade value of forwards Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis on the market across the league, sources said. Both players could be included in a Morant trade to make the salary requirements work under CBA rules, but would leave Milwaukee thin in the frontcourt. '
Portis and another unidentified minimum-salary player have also come up in talks with the Sacramento Kings in exploratory conversations involving Keon Ellis and Malik Monk, league sources told HoopsHype. Milwaukee has eyed scoring help, which Monk could theoretically provide, and Ellis has been on their radar as well.
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Eric Nehm: FINAL: Spurs 119, Bucks 101 - Antetokounmpo 21pts/5reb (22min) - Kuzma 18pts/3reb/2ast - Portis 13pts/3ast The Bucks are 17-24 on the season. They play next on Monday in Atlanta.
Eric Nehm: FINAL: Timberwolves 139, Bucks 106 - Antetokounmpo 25pts/8reb/5ast - Portis 14pts/7reb - Porter 13pts/4reb/8ast - Rollins 11pts/7reb/3ast - Green 9pts/2ast The Bucks are now 17-23 on the season. They next play in San Antonio on Thursday.
Bobby Portis: "If it were my first or second year on the team with Giannis, I might be confused and not really understand what’s going on. But this is my sixth year playing with him, my sixth year with the Bucks, so I understand the situation. Our team isn’t playing as well as we should be right now, and with the trade deadline approaching, it’s naturally a hot topic. And why wouldn’t it be? When you look at the type of player Giannis is and what he’s already done for this franchise, of course there’s going to be speculation. I get the full picture. But for the guys in our locker room, him coming out and saying he’ll never ask for a trade—that settles things a bit. It eases some minds. Because when you lose a game in Milwaukee, you feel it. Lose a few in a row, and you really feel it. The expectation here has always been championship. It’s never just about making the playoffs. So every loss weighs heavy on us.”
Bobby Portis on three-point contest: "Yeah, I actually want to do it. I think I could bring something different to the competition. You usually see the same guys in it—Dame Lillard, Steph Curry—the shooters everyone already knows. But when people look at Bobby Portis, they see a tough guy, not someone who can really score like that. So being out there would give me a chance to show my skill set and prove I can shoot with the best of them. I really believe I could get hot and give the crowd something to get excited about."
