The Milwaukee Bucks, per reports, are eyeing a guard in Labaron Philon Jr. in the upcoming draft lottery. Their starting guard in Kevin Porter Jr. has a player option coming up that he'll almost certainly decline after the season he just had. It's not hard to connect the dots. The question now becomes: are they preparing to lose one of the most important pieces on their roster from this season?
According to a report by ESPN's Jeremy Woo, Labaron Philon Jr. is drawing interest from teams in the lottery "including Dallas and Milwaukee at the high end." That's notable for a Bucks front office that's spent most of this offseason focused on the Giannis trade saga -- because it raises a less immediate question nobody's answered yet: what is Milwaukee's plan at guard next year?
Kevin Porter Jr. might have outplayed his current contract with the Bucks
After a productive season, KPJ heads into the offseason with a $5.4 million player option for next season, per Spotrac. If he declines it (which is, at this point, exactly what most expect) the Bucks must decide whether to bring him back. That's not a given.
Porter played arguably the best basketball of his career in Milwaukee. His 17.4 points per game was second on the entire roster after Giannis Antetokounmpo. And according to Cleaning the Glass, the Bucks' defensive rating improved by -4.1 points per 100 whenever Porter stepped on the floor, putting Porter in the 84th percentile in that statistic.
The question isn't whether he can play, but whether anyone is willing to pay him what he'll want on the open market. A guard who just turned 26, with a rough history and two strong seasons under his belt, is going to test free agency. That's rational. And the Bucks, in the middle of a full roster teardown, may not be the team that bids highest.
That is where Philon comes in.
To put it simply, the Alabama sophomore is an advanced offensive processor. He's a quick, scoring guard who can play pesky defense with starting potential if his two-way game continues to develop. That's exactly the profile Milwaukee has been chasing at the guard spot ever since the Damian Lillard era ended. The fit makes sense on paper.
It should also be said that with the way the 2026 board has shaped up, most of Milwaukee's appealing options at pick 10 are guards, which could also mean that this isn't just a KPJ contingency plan. It may also betray where the Bucks see their roster needs heading into whatever comes next. Whether Giannis is still in Milwaukee or not, they need guard play. They need creation. They need someone who can run an offense without leaning entirely on a generational big man.
Kevin Porter Jr. may not remain a Milwaukee Buck heading into next season
There are also scenarios where Philon falls into the early to late teens given the sheer number of guards on the board, which means Milwaukee might not even have to choose between him and a more positional fit at 10 since he could just slide to them. (Or they could also trade down, pick up extra assets, and still land him. Either way, the interest is real and the logic is sound.)
The more uncomfortable reading of all this is that the Bucks are planning for a backcourt without Kevin Porter Jr. before KPJ has even made his decision. Because it does suggest Milwaukee isn't banking on him coming back.
Philon is intriguing, but KPJ has been genuinely good. The Bucks probably can't afford both.
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