Based on his recent comments, Milwaukee Bucks big man Bobby Portis is likely hunting the bag this offseason. His wish “to be compensated fairly” does not suggest interest in picking up his $13.4 million player option for 2025-26. The Bucks, though, don’t have the cap space to throw money around. If they want to keep him, it will have to involve a deal based on trust, say team analysts Justin Garcia and Camille Davis.
Bobby Portis Has Given Milwaukee Bucks Consistent Boards at Buckets at Bargain Price
Since joining the Bucks in 2020-21, Portis has remained with the team at a bargain. The first three years of the contract he’s on now have paid him $35 million to be the most consistent bench big in the game. His prior contract earned him $8.9 million over two years.
He signed his current deal following a 2021-22 campaign in which he averaged a career-high 14.6 points; perhaps he could have gotten more money elsewhere. Since then, he’s averaged around 14 points and 7.5-9.5 rebounds every season, on efficient shooting splits.
Due to a sparse market, stretch bigs should fetch a fancy price this offseason. On the open market, Portis could secure an annual salary above $20 million. That’s more than the Bucks can afford on a multi-year deal.
In a podcast episode, Garcia notes that next year, when the NBA salary cap increases, the Bucks will have substantially more wiggle room to pay him. Would he be willing to wait?
In an appearance on Fanduel TV’s “Run It Back” show, Portis indicated that he and the Bucks are talking some things over. Garcia has an idea about how the team might structure its pitch to keep Portis in Milwaukee another year, which could happen if he either exercises his option or declines it for a one-year deal worth slightly more. Then, next offseason, the Bucks would hook him up with a well-paid, longer-term arrangement.
Is He Willing To Ride Out One More Year?
In addition to the future money, Milwaukee could appeal to Portis based on the altered roster landscape heading into next season, suggests Garcia, given the expected free agency departure of center Brook Lopez. The Bucks might say something like:
‘We think there’s a good opportunity that your minutes are going to increase, the role that you’re going to take on is going to increase even more. You may be our starting big man alongside Giannis. So we do want to take care of you. We got a lot more flexibility next year when things start to open up. … So what if you do us one more solid, you opt into that [player option], and then we work out an extension.’
Certainly this would work well for the Bucks. Whether Portis, 30, wants to hold off on bagging a lucrative deal, the first of his career and perhaps the last, given how old he’ll be when the contract expires, is another question. Davis believes it’s within the realm of possibility.
I would think at this point too that Bobby Portis and the Bucks have a relationship that is a trustworthy one, given the fact that, as he pointed out, he has taken team-friendly deals, throughout his time here in Milwaukee. … Then I would just be curious to know, is he willing to do the ‘one more solid’?
Portis might decide he’s put in his dues, she cautions. “‘Two times is enough. Three times, I’m out of here.'”
The Bucks and their fans are hoping otherwise.
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