Amid reports that they’re looking to buy ahead of next month’s trade deadline, recent intel from both Sam Amick of The Athletic and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line suggests that the Bucks are in on Nets forward Michael Porter Jr., according to league sources. Milwaukee is “monitoring” the 27-year-old former NBA champion’s situation in Brooklyn, but they are not alone: Fischer relays that Golden State is considering him too, and Detroit might be a suitor too.
I suggested MPJ as a possibility on our
most recent episode of Deer Diaries. Jackson and I both approve, while Kyle brought up injuries as a reason he’s not interested. While yes, he has some history there after missing his entire rookie season due to a back injury sustained in his only season of college, requiring a second back surgery, plus missing 73 games in the 2021–22 season with a third back surgery, he’s been largely healthy since. Maybe he had Brook Lopez’s surgeon? In fact, from 2023 to 2025, he missed just five games over two full seasons. He’s missed five this year, but one was a SEGABABA, and the most recent was due to illness. So he seems pretty healthy.
Moving from third fiddle behind Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in Denver to The Guy in Brooklyn has obviously benefitted MPJ in terms of field goal attempts, but it’s worth noting his efficiency has increased as his volume increased by nearly five shots per game. His 62.9% true shooting is only topped by his second season, but he’s now getting to the line nearly twice as often as he ever has before. His three-point percentage remains superb at an even 41%, so he’s basically in line or better with all his previous shooting lines (.496/.410/.812 vs. a career 499/.407/.812). That’s boosted his per-game scoring average to 25.8 PPG, nearly seven more than any of his Nuggets campaigns. He’s also notching a career-best 3.3 APG.
While rostering both a Michael and Kevin of the Porter Jr. (no relation) variety might sound duplicative, the offensive skillset Michael brings seems like a clean fit with Milwaukee at a position of desperate need. His success going from third option to first bodes very well for the shot diet he’d likely see next to Giannis. His usage in Brooklyn is just under 30% with essentially the same volume as Giannis, but if he slid in somewhere between his 13ish FGA/game from the Denver years and the 18.5 he’s taking this year, that should work well in Milwaukee. For reference, Ryan Rollins and KPJ are second and third in attempts per game for the Bucks at around 13.5.
Defensively, things are less certain. He certainly has the size Milwaukee really needs on the wing at 6’10” and a 7′ wingspan, though he’s a good 30 pounds lighter than Giannis. He always played the three as a Nugget as Aaron Gordon took on the tough wing assignments, which wouldn’t really be congruent with how the Bucks prefer using Giannis. While I don’t think he’s the ideal wing stopper Milwaukee could use by any stretch, some say he has improved on D, and he’s always been a great rebounder, another area of significant need. And maybe the Bucks can get by regardless: over the past three weeks, they’ve actually been the league’s 11th-best defense.
Five reasons Nets F Michael Porter Jr. is the Warriors perfect trade deadline target
MPJ might be the best fit the Bucks can find on the trade market among names actually rumored to be available. But at what cost? Recall that this past offseason, Denver had to give up an unprotected 2031 first-round pick to trade him for Cameron Johnson. Brooklyn made them pay dearly for an older player but worse scorer primarily because of his contract: at the time, he had two years and $79.1m remaining on his rookie-scale max extension. A really nice trade for the Nets, and even better since he’s gone on to have a career year. Per Fischer, one league exec says “at worst he’s returned to neutral value, which is a major development.” Brooklyn definitely won’t have to give up assets to get off him, as Denver did.
They could now get another asset moving off him barely six months later, likely a first-round pick. Of the two rivals already discussed, Detroit controlls all its futue firsts, which makes them really scary. Already one of the East’s best teams and in position to outbid almost anyone with those picks and plenty of young talent, they wouldn’t need to add much to Tobias Harris’ expiring contract to make the numbers work. Harris and, say, Ron Holland plus a future first could give the Pistons their starting frontcourt for years to come (they would get Porter’s Bird rights in summer 2027, letting them offer whatever new contract they like), likely making them the prohibitive favorite in the East. Golden State can trade firsts in 2026–2028 and in 2032, or swaps in 2029 and 2031.
At the moment, the Bucks can only trade one first and a first-round pick swap. Their pick in 2031 or 2032 (whichever isn’t the swap) is very valuable, though, considering how old Giannis would be if he’s still a Buck at that point. Detroit looks likely to pick in the 20s for the foreseeable future, so Milwaukee’s pick may entice Brooklyn more. However, Golden State is one of the oldest teams in the league, and they could start drafting pretty high in the next few years, when Milwaukee’s picks are all elsewhere.
As far as salary goes, the Bucks can offer Bobby Portis and Kyle Kuzma for the deal to work. This would only add around $2.5m to their payroll, still well underneath the luxury tax threshold. Like Porter, Kuzma has a year left on his contract and would be saving the Nets around $20m next year. Bobby Portis can opt out after next year, so he would be a quasi-expiring contract. Even if he stayed, the Nets would be saving several mil. But perhaps one of these guys would need to be rerouted to another franchise.
I do think Porter would be worth giving up those two and a future first. He fits Milwaukee’s timeline, but more importantly, will give Giannis a younger and offensively gifted running mate that might convince the big fella to stick around, hopefully enough to extend when he becomes eligible next October. In the short-term, he raises the Bucks floor and ceiling quite a bit, even if it’s not to true contention. But I don’t think there’s any single player right now who would necessarily do that, especially with this coaching staff. Also, I think the league needs to do what it can to keep him away from Detroit, which could turn that team into something like a juggernaut.
Amick also reported that Kings guard Malik Monk is also on the Bucks’ radar. After starting a lot for Sacramento this year, the former Sixth Man of the Year runner-up has seen his minutes slashed considerably under Doug Christie. That’s reportedly miffed Monk, and at 14th in the West, the Kings are looking to move off the rest of his contract. He’ll make $20.2m next season and can opt out of $21.6m to become a free agent in 2027 at age 29. While Monk is a helpful stat-stuffer for any team, he’s undersized and pretty limited to the backcourt. He’d be a nice upgrade over Gary Trent Jr., but do the Bucks really need another guard alongside KPJ, Rollins, AJ Green, and even Gary Harris? They’d have to trade one of Portis or Kuzma to acquire Monk, depleting forward and frontcourt depth when it’s already bad. There would have to be some other moves for Monk to make sense.
