In a pretty surprising move, the Milwaukee Bucks cut Kevin Porter Jr. recently to trim the roster down to 15 standard players. They allegedly almost did not have to. Per The Stein Line insider Jake Fischer (subscription required), the Bucks and Denver Nuggets had conversations about a Porter deal to net the Bucks Zeke Nnaji and picks, but Milwaukee backed away, prioritizing flexibility for next season.
Nnaji's contract would have been a hindrance
It's no secret that the Nuggets have been trying to move Nnaji for a while. While the big man showed enough potential early in his career to earn a four-year deal worth $32 million, he has since regressed and isn't a steady contributor. Making $7.5 million this season while holding a player option worth the same figure next season, it makes sense they'd want to move him.
Denver wanted to get him off the books so badly that Fischer says they were willing to offer a pair of second round picks as well as a future swap for Porter. That had to be an intriguing offer, even if the Bucks weren't dealing with their roster crunch. While they likely thought long and hard about making the deal, they ultimately turned it down, and having to pay Nnaji next season was the reason.
As Fischer mentions, Ryan Rollins, Tyler Herro, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. can all hit the free agent pool next summer, and the Bucks need as much flexibility as they can get to pay them. While they could have pulled some strings and still potentially done so, they seemingly felt like keeping their books as clean as possible and waiving the expiring Porter was the better route.
Time will tell if Bucks are vindicated
Fischer says he talked to five salary cap specialists, all of whom would have made this deal, though they understood not doing it because of flexibility. With how bare Milwaukee's asset cupboard is at the moment, even after getting a pair of seconds in the Caris LeVert trade, it would have made a lot of sense to do this deal for a handful of extra second round selections.
If the Milwaukee Bucks use their cap space wisely next summer and make some moves to put this team in the best position possible, it will be easy to forget about this proposal. For now, though, all they can do is wait to see how things unfold.
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