Grade the Trade: Bucks move fan-favorite to Kings for defensive guard, more

The Verdict

This trade could help the Milwaukee Bucks possibly keep their window open a tiny bit longer by adding a player like Ellis, but Trey Lyles is a free agent at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season. Bobby Portis is under contract for 2024-25 and has a player option for the 2025-26 season.

The second-round pick, especially the fact that it's coming from a team that is likely to be picking in the top 10, maybe even top five of next year's draft, going from Sacramento to Milwaukee in the deal does make it enticing from the Milwaukee Bucks' perspective.

There is always the possibility that the Bucks flip Lyles in another deal with the second-round pick, but that's a lot of wheeling and dealing to ask of Jon Horst in a short period of time. All in all, this trade is interesting for the Milwaukee Bucks but doesn't move the needle enough to be an A grade.

As for the Kings, the thought of having two of last season's Sixth Man of the Year candidates on the same team does sound like a fun proposition, even more so when considering the fact that, on the surface, you're only giving up an expiring contract, a player you signed as an undrafted free agent to a two-way deal and a second-round pick.

Both teams could be okay with accepting this deal, but would either one be so excited that they would first offer it to the other? Probably not. This deal doesn't move the needle a ton for either team, so at the end of the day, this trade is basically just making a move for the sake of making a move, and there isn't a team that would come out as a clear winner.

It would be an interesting deal with Portis and several other Bucks being mentioned in trade rumors, but the odds of it happening are slim.

All in all, Bleacher Report has made some bad trade proposals from their publications over the last handful of years, but this isn't one of them. This trade can be made to make sense from both sides.