The Bucks’ decision to waive Kevin Porter Jr. has already paid off with the rise of Kasparas Jakucionis, but is further vindicated by Porter’s lack of suitors around the league. According to recent reports, the Kings and Nuggets have the most significant interest in him.
Obviously, the Kings have been known for their bad decision-making for practically two decades now. And the Nuggets are now in a desperate financial position over the 2nd apron. So the interest of these two teams in particular only emphasizes how far Porter’s status has fallen in the league.
The Bucks don’t regret waiving Porter at all
While the Bucks easily could’ve kept Porter on a cheap contract, they chose to value development by waiving him. That decision followed a common trend across the offseason of focusing on the future rather than valuing short-term wins.
There’s also no guarantee that Porter would have been able to produce this season on the Bucks. Consider that Ryan Rollins - who was consistently better than Porter last season - has struggled this year. Adding Porter to the guard room would’ve only complicated things more, without the potential for a very high ceiling.
Keeping Porter wouldn’t even have made the Bucks a playoff team, let alone one with real title hopes, but it would have prevented other guards from growing. The Bucks were obviously right to move on from Porter, but the question remained whether or not they could have gotten something in return for him.
Porter clearly had no trade value
But if only two teams are even willing to consider Porter for a minimal deal now, he definitely wasn’t going to fetch the Bucks any notable assets. Maybe he could’ve eventually netted a second round pick or reclamation project if he played well this season, but that upside wasn’t worth it for the Bucks.
Even now, with the league decimated by injuries to playmakers and shot creators, Porter remains unsigned. The same concerns that the Bucks had also apply to Porter’s fit on any other team. He’s a classic case of an empty stats player, who’s at his best on tanking teams with the ball in his hands but not good enough to drive real team success.
It’s no wonder that he’s been on 3 teams in the last 3 seasons, including a year overseas. The Bucks also originally got him for another failed prospect in Marjon Beauchamp, a deal that showed how far both players had fallen since being drafted.
Porter wasn’t worth the headache and logjam for the Bucks. That part was never in doubt, but seeing that practically every other team also agrees has been the surprising revelation.
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