Bucks’ Bobby Portis Desires Trade To LeBron James’ Lakers

Milwaukee Bucks power forward Bobby Portis is interested in joining the Los Angeles Lakers, according to NBA insider Peter Dewey of Lakers Daily.

Portis would like to reunite with Darvin Ham, who was an assistant coach on the Bucks for four years.

“According to a source, Portis is interested in joining the Lakers to reunite with former head coach Darvin Ham,” Dewey wrote. “Ham left the Bucks following the 2021-22 season to take the Lakers coaching job. He helped coach the Bucks during their NBA Finals run in the 2020-21 season with Portis on the roster.”

Portis has a close relationship with Ham. The two were part of the 2021 Bucks championship team. Portis signed a four-year, $48.6 million contract with Milwaukee in July 2022. The Lakers would have to trade for the Arkansas product to get him on their roster since Portis can’t become a free agent until the summer of 2025.

The Bucks fired Mike Budenholzer as head coach after losing to the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs in five games. Milwaukee hired former NBA player Adrian Griffin to replace Budenholzer.

Portis averaged 14.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists this season for the Bucks while shooting 49.6% from the floor, 37.0% from beyond the arc and 76.8% from the free-throw line. He has career averages of 11.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists with the Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, New York Knicks and Bucks.

“The Lakers could certainly use a player like Portis up front, as the team was extremely thin behind Anthony Davis after Mo Bamba suffered an ankle injury in the 2022-23 season,” Dewey wrote. “Wenyen Gabriel was the primary big man to play behind Davis for the Lakers in the playoffs.

“The former first-round pick’s ability to stretch the floor would make him extremely valuable to the Lakers for spacing reasons. It would also allow him to play alongside Davis, similarly to how he played with Brook Lopez and Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee.”

The Lakers went 43-39 in the regular season and 8-8 in the postseason in Ham’s first year as head coach. Los Angeles lost to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals in four games.