Polarizing 41% Bucks 3-point shooter predicted to sign $18.6 million deal

Jon Conahan

Polarizing 41% Bucks 3-point shooter predicted to sign $18.6 million deal image

The Milwaukee Bucks acquired Kevin Porter Jr. at the NBA trade deadline a season ago for MarJon Beauchamp, a deal that made plenty of sense for Milwaukee. 

Porter has some off-court issues, but he produced at a decent level in Milwaukee, averaging 11.7 points and shooting 49.4% from the field and 40.8% from 3-point range on 2.4 attempts. 

He isn't someone the Bucks should get too worried about if he leaves, but bringing him back on a cheap deal wouldn't be the worst idea.

Despite that, it likely won't be too cheap. The Athletic recently predicted that he could land an $18.6 million AAV contract, something Milwaukee is unlikely to give him.

“There are many issues with Porter that don’t involve the basketball court, but BORD$ sees only the basketball court, plus his age (25) and his huge production as a bench catalyst for the Bucks at the end of last season. Porter has a player option for a piddling $2.5 million and will certainly opt out, but once that happens, what's his value?

“The Bucks have no Bird rights on Porter; if he opts out, they will need to use exception money to bring him back. Milwaukee might have the $14.1 million nontaxpayer midlevel exception depending on whether Lopez (above), Bobby Portis Jr. (below) and Gary Trent Jr. are back, but it’s also possible the Bucks are limited to the $5.7 million taxpayer exception,” they wrote.

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There's a scenario where they could get creative with Porter and allow him to come back on another one-year prove-it deal. 

It isn't a guarantee that teams around the league will still be interested in him due to the off-court issues.

In that scenario, the Bucks could bring back their backup point guard.

Jon Conahan

Jon Conahan is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. A 2022 Penn State University graduate who majored in journalism, he was also a member of the school's D1 baseball team. His work has been featured on Sports Illustrated, Heavy and other outlets. Jon makes home in North Jersey, but also resides in Cape Coral, Florida, for parts of the year. He’s an avid fan of the New York Yankees, Miami Dolphins and Milwaukee Bucks.