All season long, a myriad of issues have plagued the Milwaukee Bucks. Despite starting the season with a pristine 30-13 record, the atmosphere surrounding the Bucks never felt right; their defense has fallen off a cliff, Damian Lillard hasn’t quite jelled as well with the team as they would have hoped, and it seems like the team’s identity has been shattered with the departure of Jrue Holiday. Thus, prior to the trade deadline, the Bucks explored a few options to find a panacea to what’s ailing the team, even reportedly entertaining the idea of trading Bobby Portis away.
One of the most prominent rumors at the time was that the Bucks were looking to trade Portis to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Grant Williams. Williams fell out of favor in only half a season with the Mavs, but he could still be a viable 3-and-D option at power forward and an instigator that would have given a toothless Bucks team their edge back.
When these rumors inevitably reached Bobby Portis’ ears, he couldn’t help but be perplexed that the Bucks would even entertain such an idea. After all, Portis doesn’t think that his trade value is equivalent to that of Williams’, at all.
“When I got hints of it, I’m like, ain’t no way I’m getting traded for…excuse my French, that’s my guy, I love competing against him…but I shouldn’t get traded for Grant Williams. That don’t even sound right,” Portis told Shams Charania of The Athletic on Stadium.
In the end, the Bucks kept Bobby Portis; in 31 games since the trade deadline, Portis averaged 16.0 points and 8.2 rebounds in only 25.5 minutes per game, assuming his huge scoring role off the bench as per usual. Meanwhile, the Mavericks traded Grant Williams to the Charlotte Hornets in the deal that netted them PJ Washington. It appears as though all sides won in the end.
Trading Bobby Portis away would have been a mistake
It sure is tempting to entertain the idea of an overhaul when things haven’t gone in the exact way someone had envisioned. For the Bucks, all season long, it has felt like trading for Damian Lillard came at the expense of the team’s soul. Trading Bobby Portis away would have been another catastrophic move, not just in a basketball sense, but also for a locker room that is in dire need of more stability.
Grant Williams is a vocal leader, but acquiring him at the expense of Portis would not have been worth it. The vocal leader, defense-first, instigator role has been filled by Patrick Beverley anyway. Williams is very limited in what he could do on the offensive end, and his shot deserted him at multiple points in the season. Portis’ floor of production is as high as it gets, which is exactly what the Bucks need at the moment.
The Bucks will need Bobby in the postseason
With Giannis Antetokounmpo’s status for the Pacers series in doubt, Bobby Portis is slated to play a huge role to try and hold off the team that took four out of five games against them in the regular season. Portis has become underrated; in addition to playing all 82 games this season, he also averaged 14 and 7 a night on 50 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from deep.
Portis has also had his chippy moments in the playoffs, giving the Bucks the teeth they need as they come up against teams that will be looking to snatch their chain. He is also capable of rallying the Fiserv Forum crowd with his expressiveness, and he’s a beloved guy in the locker room.
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