Bucks Ship Beloved Veteran Off in Peculiar Projected Trade

This offseason has already been odd enough for Bucks fans following a couple of head-scratching NBA Draft picks and no significant additions aside from Taurean Prince.

Everyone knows that the title window is closing soon and the front office is clearly trying to stay in win-now mode without completely mortgaging the future.

Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley has an idea for a move that could further those efforts, but it might not make fans any happier.

Bucks Send Bobby Portis to Kings in Mock Trade Proposal

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Bobby Portis’s name is being brought up here, as he’s been rumored to be on the trade block for a few weeks now.

But the return in this proposed trade doesn’t move the needle much.

Bucks Trade: Bobby Portis
Kings Trade: Keon Ellis, Trey Lyles and a 2025 2nd Round Pick (via Portland)

Both Ellis, 24, and Lyles, 28, are young-enough players that can provide floor spacing and defense, but does this make the Bucks any better?

Portis is a perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate who shot 40.7% from 3-point range last season so that exchange doesn’t really change much for Milwaukee offensively.

Bleacher Report argues that the Bucks could greatly benefit from Ellis’s defense in the backcourt, and adding a second-round pick next year could prove useful.

"If Milwaukee thinks Lyles could be even 75 percent of who Portis is, that might be enough motivation to move. The Bucks badly need a defensive upgrade in the backcourt, and Ellis just gave the Kings a three-and-D jolt in the season's second half. As an added bonus, Milwaukee would pick up a valuable second-rounder to try seeking out another modest upgrade elsewhere."

- Zach Buckley, Bleacher Report

You could also argue that this makes some sense contractually. Ellis is under team control for the next two seasons and Lyles would certainly command less money in free agency next season than Portis, who could decline his player option.

But the Bucks have done enough future-building through the draft already. 

The fact that trading Portis for parts is even being discussed says the most here. Milwaukee is in a difficult position and may be forced to simply run it back with the same squad they had last year.

Of course, injuries derailed last season, so there’s hope that all the Bucks need is health on their side. 

If the Bucks are going to make a trade, it would ideally be something splashier in an Eastern Conference that’s grown even more competitive with the Sixers landing Paul George, the Knicks adding Mikal Bridges, and the Celtics fresh off an NBA Championship.

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