After reportedly signing a two-year, $8 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, let’s hand out our grade on the acquisition of Bobby Portis.
The Milwaukee Bucks kicked off an eventful Saturday by bringing in a big man off the free agent market.
First reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Bucks are signing Bobby Portis on a two year deal worth around $8 million, which fits right into the Bucks’ bi-annual exception. The deal also features a player option in the second year of his deal.
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Now that he’s Milwaukee-bound, this will serve as Portis’ fourth stop in the NBA since being drafted with the 23rd overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft after having previously been with the Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards and New York Knicks.
Portis brings plenty to the table as a basketball player, and this signing has the potential to come up big down the stretch. With that out of the way, let’s take a look at Bobby Portis and what this signing means for the Milwaukee Bucks.
The value Bobby Portis’ deal with the Milwaukee Bucks
At $8 million over two years, this is a solid deal from the Bucks’ side of things. Portis originally was under contract with the Knicks earlier in the week, but they smartly declined his $15 million team option to offload some of the talent in their overloaded frontcourt.
That does not mean Portis was not of value to the Knicks, as he put together a decent 2019-20 season with the franchise, even under a rebuilding situation.
In 66 games, five of them coming in the starting lineup, the big man averaged 10.1 points on .450/.358/.763 shooting splits, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists across 21.1 minutes per game. If Portis brings that same type of production to the Bucks on a far cheaper deal, that is a solid acquisition to fortify their frontcourt behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez.
The fit is made especially compelling, given the team’s overwhelming need for talent in the frontcourt, and if everything breaks right, Portis could be up for the job.
Examining Bobby Portis’ potential role with the Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks lost a hefty portion of their frontcourt depth after the end of the 2019-20 season and leading up to the start of free agency, and now Portis is coming in to try and provide an answer in this regard.
With Marvin Williams having retired, Ersan Ilyasova waived in light of not wanting to guarantee his $7 million salary, and Robin Lopez reportedly having signed with the Washington Wizards, the Bucks needed some size behind Antetokounmpo and Lopez.
Portis might not have been the first choice of many, but he offers the kind of physical profile that can play both the 4 and 5 spots. Can he do it well enough to offer something meaningful to the Bucks as they look to vie for next year’s NBA title? That is the big question, especially as they won’t have room to bring in a traditional backup center behind Brook as the roster is currently constructed.
Having traveled around to teams that have largely been rebuilding over the course of his five-year NBA career, Portis will have quite the whiplash in joining a title contender like the Bucks and creates the question as to whether he is the man for the job under these guidelines.
Looking at Bobby Portis’ fit with the Milwaukee Bucks
As previously mentioned, Portis has the size and the capabilities to stretch the floor in the manner that the Bucks have valued over the last couple of seasons and the Mike Budenholzer era.
While he is not as dependent on the long ball as say Lopez is, Portis is a serviceable threat from behind the arc. The former Razorback hasn’t been a high-volume threat from 3-point distance over his career but has hit such shots at a 36 percent clip since coming into the NBA.
That shows the floor spacing he can provide while playing alongside Antetokounmpo or even in minutes where Portis can play at the 5 without Antetokounmpo on the floor. Needless to say, he has the capabilities of fitting in the Bucks’ let it fly offensive system and hit 35.6 percent of his 180 catch-and-shoot threes last season in New York, per NBA.com/stats.
For Portis to truly realize his fit in Milwaukee, it’s on the defensive end where the Little Rock native will have to prove his worth. Portis certainly has the size and physical profile to hold on his own on side of the ball, but does he have the instincts and awareness to play up to the role that he’ll be asked under head coach Mike Budenholzer?
He’s a good and productive rebounder and a dismal rim protector and it will take more than that to prove his value, especially with the title hopes that the Bucks hope to realize next season.
What’s the grade on Bobby Portis’ deal with the Milwaukee Bucks?
Overall, this is a largely positive pickup for the Bucks. Aside from Antetokounmpo and Lopez, the team is rung dry of bodies in the frontcourt, and Portis helps bring forth some closure on that front.
The Bucks get a 25-year-old big man that continues to develop, showing significant signs of potential periodically. If anything, playing a meaningful role on a championship contending team could provide the opportunity to get the best out of Portis after how his career trajectory has gone to this point.
Portis brings aboard a hard-nosed physical presence that is not afraid to get his hands dirty and that should be of value to the Bucks. With the Bucks wanting to bring a little more toughness to the roster, Portis provides that with competitive drive. Let’s just hope his history of physical altercations during practice is a thing of the past.
With Portis on the books for about $8 million total for the next two seasons, though he does have that player option for next year, his contract is digestible, especially given his production and likely role. Portis clearly doesn’t tip the needle significantly, but he may prove to be an upgrade on the likes of Ersan Ilyasova, Marvin Williams, and the incumbent D.J. Wilson.
That’s provided that Portis addresses his defensive shortcomings and only time will tell in that department. By coming to Milwaukee, promise surrounds Portis in a way that hasn’t occurred over his NBA career to this point and he will have to make good on that promise.