The Milwaukee Bucks finally made their roster move on Monday afternoon, and it wasn’t the one plenty around the team had been waiting for.
Instead of trading Kevin Porter Jr., the Bucks waived the guard to get down to roster limit as cutdown day approached. ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported the move.
Earlier Monday, reports had tied Milwaukee to the possibility of moving Porter Jr., with the Sacramento Kings mentioned as a potential landing spot after the Kings lost Ben Simmons for the season. But no deal came together, and the Bucks resolved their roster crunch by cutting Porter Jr. loose.
Porter spent the last two seasons with Milwaukee after being acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in February of 2025. He gave the Bucks solid production in that stretch, averaging 14.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game while shooting 47.4% from the field and 35% from 3-point range. Even so, his numbers didn’t translate directly into wins, though he still stood out as one of the few bright spots in a rough 2026-27 season.
Milwaukee’s roster has been in the middle of a major overhaul since the trade of franchise pillar Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat. That deal brought back two guards, Tyler Herro and Kasparas Jakucionis, and the Bucks added another in the draft by taking Brayden Burries with the No. 10 pick. They also brought back veteran Gary Trent Jr.
Porter’s preseason, meanwhile, did him no favors. With the Bucks loaded at guard, he became the odd man out.
That leaves Milwaukee looking like it will open the season with Herro and Ryan Rollins in the starting backcourt, while Burries could be in line for immediate minutes as a rookie. Jakucionis is also in the mix after working his way into the back of Erik Spoelstra’s rotation, and both guards bring size and the ability to function on or off the ball.
Porter was in the final year of his contract, which made the decision easier for Milwaukee. The Bucks are still carrying the financial weight of the waive-and-stretch on Damian Lillard, along with sizable deals for Myles Turner, Kyle Kuzma and Trent. A midseason move involving Turner or Kuzma remains possible, but nothing substantial came out of the offseason or preseason.
With Porter gone, Milwaukee keeps pushing toward the future pieces it has chosen to lean on. And that means three of the team’s top scorers from last season are now out of the picture, with Giannis and Bobby Portis, Jr. gone as part of the trade to Miami and Porter now waived as well.
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Sacramentos search for backcourt help has suddenly become a story worth watching in Milwaukee, too, after Kings point guard Ben Simmons suffered a torn Achilles and is set to miss the entire season. With a major hole at the position, the Kings are reportedly weighing outside options, and Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. has surfaced as one of the names in the mix alongside Memphis guard Walter Clayton.
For the Bucks, the uncertainty is part of the appeal and the concern. Porter Jr. gives Sacramento a more established option to consider, but the Kings decision could come down to roster fit and timing as they sort through a quick response to the injury. No move has been announced yet, leaving Milwaukee to monitor whether one of its guards becomes part of Sacramentos urgent scramble. [Read more 🡒]
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The scene only drew more attention when a lip reader later broke down the interaction on social media, adding another layer to what had already looked like a tense run-in. Haliburton finished with 17 points and six assists, while Rollins posted eight points and five assists, and Milwaukee escaped with a 128-127 overtime win, though neither guard took part in the extra period. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Backcourt Squeeze Could Finally Open A Door For Jakucionis
A possible Kevin Porter Jr. trade has put Milwaukees backcourt picture back under a microscope, and it could create the kind of opening the Bucks have been waiting to see from Kasparas Jakucionis. The 20-year-old point guard has already flashed enough to keep himself in the conversation, and if the rotation shifts, he would be one of the main candidates to step into the role of backup floor general.
Milwaukees willingness to explore moves around the edges of the roster suggests the guard depth chart is far from settled, especially with Caris LeVert and Jericho Sims also mentioned as being on the trade table. For Jakucionis, that uncertainty is part opportunity and part test, because a clearer path to minutes would also bring a bigger burden to prove he can handle them. [Read more 🡒]