Kevin Porter Jr. was the casualty of the Milwaukee Bucks' roster crunch, being waived in a surprising move. It's clear that the controversial Gary Trent Jr. deal has already had an impact on other players, as this could have been avoided if they hadn't handed him that hefty new contract.
Gary Trent Jr. deal already impacting Bucks roster moves
Trent signing the monster four-year, $64 million deal has put the Bucks in a tough spot. Following a below-par season last time out, it felt like the two sides were destined to move on. Yet, not only did the Milwaukee Bucks bring him back, but they handed him a massive raise. Only making it clearer that Porter was likely getting the boot was the fact that he was a guard.
Despite being far more productive than Trent, Porter gets waived, while Trent enjoys a new contract.
Porter averaged 17.4 points, 7.4 assists, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game in 38 games last season. The Bucks were, of course, poor, and he would likely have seen a decrease in minutes this season as they lean toward the younger guards, so it's not like waiving him is a move that will haunt the franchise. If the youngsters find their footing, it will vindicate the move.
Still, it would have been nice to get something for him via trade. Those stats alone make it strange that the Bucks couldn't get a deal sorted, but at the same time, heliocentric guards that aren't elite are falling by the wayside in the NBA.
Milwaukee backed themselves into a corner with the Trent deal, and if there was no market for Porter, there wasn't much they could do.
Bucks leaning towards young guards is a huge positive
As preseason progressed, it became clear that Taylor Jenkins and his coaching staff were continuing to lean on Burries and Jakucionis coming off the bench and playing significant minutes. This move further backs up that plan.
Burries averaged 14 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists with two steals in 23 minutes. Jakucionis averaged 10.3 points, 5.3 assists, and three rebounds in 17 minutes across three preseason games. The two formed a nice partnership off the bench, with Jakucionis bringing an old-school facilitator role, while Burries provides a scoring punch and is a pest defensively.
Milwaukee still has other veterans on the roster that likely won't be on the team come the end of the season. Porter was the first player directly impacted by the deal the Bucks gave to Trent. Given how hard it will be to move that contract, others may fall to a similar fate.
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