Recent reports indicate that Warriors, in their quest to sign-and-trade disgruntled free agent Jonathan Kuminga, asked the Milwaukee Bucks to include Bobby Portis in a potential deal. The Bucks said no. As if.
Ironically enough, the Fiserv Forum will host Golden State on October 30, the fifth game of the season. Portis has the perfect chance to show the Warriors – and anyone else watching – what a ridiculous request they made.
Bucks like what they have in Portis – and they should
At one point, the Bucks were indeed rumored to be exploring Kuminga trades. Any deal that happened would have to include Kyle Kuzma, a rough positional match for Kuminga and, like him, also a poor shooter.
There is no way around it. Rostering two small/power forwards with subpar shooting skills would make zero sense, especially when the roster is built around Giannis Antetokounmpo. Giannis has become excellent from the mid-range, but he isn’t looking to hoist from beyond the arc.
Even moving past that, sending Portis in exchange for Kuminga would be a negative value exchange for the Bucks. On top of that, who knows what various picks or young talent the Warriors wanted in addition. It’s interested teams who have all the leverage in this scenario, not Golden State. Kuminga isn’t proven and, frankly, he isn’t all that good. Sorry, he’s just not.
Jonathan Kuminga 2024-25 stats: 15.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.2 APG, 45.4/.30.5/.66.8, 53.5 TS%, 1.9 Win Shares in 47 G
Bobby Portis 2024-25 stats: 13.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 2.1 APG, 46.6/36.5/.83.6, 54.2 TS%, 2.7 WS in 49 G
BP has every reason to play angry versus Warriors
Owing to Kuminga’s superior ability to reach the free-throw line, their true shooting percentages are nearly identical. By the wholistic evaluation of Win Shares, however, Portis has the clear advantage, despite being the worse defender.
Both had down shooting years; what’s concerning about Kuminga, in particular, is that his already sub-par 3P% dipped again in 2024-25, all the way down from a solid 37.1% in 2022-23. From the field overall, his conversion rate fell 7.5 percentage points.
Portis, on the other hand, has never shot below 37% in five years with the Bucks. Kuminga will be just 23 when the season starts, and he has the greater upside as a two-way asset, but right now, the time period the Bucks are most interested in, Portis is a more valuable player by himself: no need to account for added picks or youngsters in any deal. On Milwaukee’s roster, his floor-spacing and glass-crashing are indispensable; the team struggled in his absence last season.
For the Warriors to request Portis as part of a Kuminga deal is downright insulting. By showing out on the court in the October 30 meeting – a solid 15 and 10, cashing in some triples, sounds about right – the Bucks big man can hammer that point home.
By then, Kuminga may or may not be a Warrior; if he is, whether or not he brings enthusiasm to the floor is a real question. One thing about BP: he’s always got that energy, in the lineup or on the sidelines. And that’s worth something, too.
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