Retaining Bobby Portis should be a priority for Milwaukee Bucks

Heading into a loaded offseason for the Milwaukee Bucks, securing Bobby Portis’ return should be the top priority. The Bucks’ front office will face plenty of key decisions to make this summer, but none should be as important as keeping Portis on this title-contending team.

Milwaukee’s star trio of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday are under contract for next season and will surely be back to run it back, so this offseason for the Bucks will be dedicated toward maintaining and enhancing the supporting cast.

As the Milwaukee Bucks enter an essential offseason, retaining Bobby Portis should be the main priority among the organization’s personnel decisions.

In terms of the supporting cast, the Milwaukee Bucks must focus on maintaining their best producer off the bench, Bobby Portis, if the hard-nosed big man declines his player option for the 2022-23 NBA season. Portis has a $4.5 million option for next season, but after another terrific year, it’s highly unlikely that he’ll opt into it.

The popular expectation is that the 27-year-old frontcourt asset will decline the player option and enter unrestricted free agency for another consecutive year. Teams around the league will express heavy interest in Portis if he’s available, but it’s important to note that the Bucks hold his early bird rights, meaning that Milwaukee would be able to exceed the salary cap to re-sign him.

As a result, the Bucks should feel confident about retaining Portis, who averaged a career-high 14.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game while shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 39.3 percent from three-point range during the regular season.

If (or when) Portis declines his 2022-23 option and enters free agency, expect the Bucks to offer him a deal somewhere around two years, $22 million. The former Razorback has been on two team-friendly deals to compete with the Bucks over the last two seasons and was arguably on the best value contract in the NBA at a $4.3 million salary this season, so he should be looking at a much larger purse this time around, deservingly so.

Portis has continuously expressed his admiration for the Bucks, the city of Milwaukee, and its fans, and it’s certainly a mutual feeling. When asked about his future this summer during his exit interview, Bobby stated, “I love it here. I love being a Buck. But it definitely comes down to them making it work.”

The Bucks would obviously prefer to bring Portis back for the long-term future, but it’s more complicated than that. It’ll come down to whether Portis’ agent and the front office can come to an agreement on a deal this offseason. However, ownership’s willingness to spend further into the luxury tax will certainly be a factor as well.

Last summer, Milwaukee chose not to re-sign P.J. Tucker to the same contract that the Miami Heat ended up giving him, and that was largely due to ownership’s unwillingness to dive deeper into the luxury tax. As a tax-paying team, these kinds of situations will now become a common basis for decision-making within the organization.

Although, the Bucks also thought that Tucker was replaceable and ultimately signed Semi Ojeleye, a younger defensive-minded forward, which didn’t work out. In this case, Portis is not someone that should be considered replaceable, and the Milwaukee Bucks must acknowledge that.

Bobby Portis has become an influential fan favorite in the city of Milwaukee, and the Bucks’ organization should make retaining him the main priority this offseason. There could be hurdles during the effort to secure him, but there will be optimism that he’ll stay in Milwaukee given the mutual fit, values, and interests.