The Milwaukee Bucks waived Kevin Porter Jr. on Monday ahead of the NBA's roster deadline. It was viewed as a surprising decision to some, seeing as Porter averaged 17.4 points, 7.4 assists, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals last season. At just 26 years old, he could fit into their new rebuilding timeline post-Giannis Antetokounmpo if they really wanted.
However, this ultimately was the right decision for Milwaukee -- for similar reasons that the Portland Trail Blazers should be avoiding the KPJ temptation as well.
Kevin Porter Jr. would be a poor fit for the Blazers
It's also why the Bucks decided to move on from Cam Thomas despite his statistical production in a similar offensive-minded role off the bench. Porter and Thomas are the "empty stats" players, if you will, whose impact on winning is far worse than you'd expect when looking at their numbers.
The Bucks didn't want Porter getting in the way of development and touches for their up-and-coming, and likely even underrated, backcourt of Ryan Rollins and Brayden Burries. Burries already looks like a steal for the Bucks at pick No. 10.
GMs around the league agree, giving Burries the most votes (10 total, good for 30 percent) when asked in the annual survey: "Which rookie was the biggest steal at where he was selected in the Draft?"
Meanwhile, the Blazers have an underrated offseason acquisition of their own, stealing two-time All-Star Ja Morant away from the Memphis Grizzlies. It's not realistic to expect him to return to that All-Star form in Portland, but that doesn't mean he won't benefit from the change of scenery.
In that same GM survey, Morant received votes as the player "most likely to have a breakout season in 2026-27."
San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper was the overwhelming favorite at 27 percent, but it does give Blazers fans context that this polarizing Morant deal is actually being viewed favorably by some GMs around the league. Portland certainly expects big things of Morant in his first year, and he's already shown reasons to support that belief with his elite playmaking showcased throughout preseason.
The Blazers have much more talent than the Bucks roster heading into the season and shouldn't even be considered a rebuilding team at this point after reaching last year's postseason as a seven seed out west. Still, they should come to the same conclusion as Milwaukee in terms of avoiding Porter Jr. for the best interest of the other playmakers on their respective rosters.
Portland finally has the ballhandlers and playmakers they lacked from last season. They do still have one final spot remaining on their 15-man roster after waiving forward Jeremy Sochan. But that spot should go to a two-way wing who is a complementary fit on the end of the bench. Porter may have more raw talent than a traditional end-of-bench player, but he's also not scalable.
Micah Nori already has his work cut out for him when it comes to establishing the offensive hierarchy this season. He doesn't need a potential headache like Porter on the roster to further complicate that equation.
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