Milwaukee's apparently learned nothing from its recent history. Jake Fischer reports the Bucks are evaluating Michael Porter Jr., which means they're about to make the exact same mistake that's already destroyed this season once: disregarding fit for the weight of a star's name.
Jake Fischer revealed this in a recent edition of The People's Insider Substack (subscription required): "It should come as no surprise that Milwaukee, league sources say, is evaluating Porter." That's on top of other names, including Sacramento's Zach LaVine and Portland's Jerami Grant.
Of course, it's likely that the whispers Fischer has heard around the league are nothing more than a competent front office doing its due diligence on available players that could help them upgrade a floundering roster. But the fact that the option is Michael Porter Jr. of all players is quite telling about where the mindset is among Jon Horst and company.
And it isn't the best look in the world.
Michael Porter Jr. would do little to solve this Bucks team's problems
Let's get it out of the way: Porter's having the best year of his career in Brooklyn. He's putting up an efficient 25.8 points per game as the first scoring option he's always wanted to be. He has the green light to shoot whenever he wants, runs plays designed specifically for him, and is the main focal point of an offense.
So it makes sense on its face initially. Porter Jr. is a talented shot-creator who could supplement Milwaukee's struggling offense (which is currently 22nd in the association scoring a measley 113.1 points per 100 possessions). There's no world where his gravity and output don't take the load off Giannis' back.
But imagine bringing him to Milwaukee to be the third option behind Giannis and potentially even Myles Turner in terms of offensive hierarchy. For a team that's been painstakingly built piece by piece specifically to complement Giannis' inward gravity, that's a recipe for immediate chemistry disaster.
Here's the crux of the matter. Porter is just not a complementary player; he's never been one and has shown doesn't want to become one. His entire career he's been trying to prove he deserves star-level usage, and Brooklyn's finally giving him that chance. Asking him to sacrifice that role to become a spot-up shooter in Milwaukee just doesn't have the makings of a game-changing acquisition.
Adding Porter means asking him to accept a drastically reduced role where he's spotting up in corners instead of creating offense. That's the same mistake they've made in the past few years: acquiring players whose strengths don't translate to their actual role in Milwaukee's system.
The defensive side is even worse. Porter's never been a good defender — despite his 6-foot-10 frame, he's currently in the 52nd percentile at his position in defensive rating, per Cleaning the Glass — and putting him on Milwaukee's already struggling defense would be catastrophic. Trading for Michael Porter Jr. would be a desperate white flag for an already struggling Bucks' defense that's currently 22nd in the league.
Then there's the matter of what assets Milwaukee would even have to give up. Brooklyn's not trading a guy averaging 25 points per game for scraps. Milwaukee would probably have to part with multiple rotation players or future draft capital they can't afford to lose, all for a third option who wants to be the first option, playing terrible defense while Milwaukee desperately needs defensive improvement
We've said it before and we'll say it again: this organization needs to stop chasing names and start evaluating actual fit. Not every talented scorer belongs on every roster, especially when that scorer can't defend and needs the ball constantly to be effective. Depth and cohesion were Milwaukee's main strengths through the strong start this season before injuries derailed their momentum.
If the Bucks are serious about contending, they need defenders who can guard multiple positions and role players who thrive without constant touches. Porter provides neither. This evaluation should end with "not a fit" and everyone moving on to actual solutions.
Michael Porter Jr. in Brooklyn as the first option is great for Michael Porter Jr. But Michael Porter Jr. in Milwaukee as the third option would be a disaster for everyone involved.