After surprisingly being cut by the Milwaukee Bucks, suitors for Kevin Porter Jr. have started to line up. Per NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer (subscription required), the Miami Heat are a team with interest in signing the guard. Porter would be a good fit there for reasons beyond his familiarity with a pair of former Bucks teammates, as they offer him the best chance to rejuvenate his career.
Porter would fit perfectly with Heat
Weather aside, things have been gloomy in Miami to start the year. The Heat, despite selling the farm to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis this offseason, are just 4-6 on the year and have plenty of issues. One is their second unit scoring, currently averaging 30.1 bench points per game, ranking 26th in the NBA. That's just not going to cut it. Porter can help.
With the Milwaukee Bucks last season, Porter averaged 17.4 points per game, the second-highest in his entire career. While that was somewhat due to Giannis having missed a good chunk of the season and Porter seeing a more prominent role, the guard showed what he could do when he gets the ball in his hands. He could do the same in Miami and help a struggling bench unit.
The familiarity also helps. Porter had spent considerable time next to Giannis and Bobby Portis over the last two seasons in Milwaukee. In particular, the combo guard formed quite the one-two punch with Giannis due to their respective scoring capabilities. It wouldn't hurt for Miami to attempt to reignite that spark amid their slow start. They need help from anywhere.
Heat must beat out other suitors
Miami isn't alone in the Porter chase. Stein and Fischer note that Sacramento and Portland are both in the hunt for his services as well. However, neither team makes as much sense as Miami for the former Milwaukee Bucks guard.
Sacramento could certainly use another ball-handler, but they are entirely invested in Darius Acuff Jr. and likely won't be in the hunt to contend. Portland has so many other guards on the roster like former Bucks Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard, as well as Ja Morant and Scoot Henderson, that Porter might not even play much if everyone is healthy.
The Heat offer Porter the cleanest path to playing time and, hypothetically, a shot at making a run at a title. The better he does on a team with legitimate aspirations, the better off he will be in the long run. Still just 26, Porter could have many good years ahead of him, but it all starts with his next decision. Miami feels like the easy choice.
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