New Epic Trade Proposal Has Bucks Swap Bobby Portis For $48M Star Big

Would Milwaukee take this leap?

December 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis (9) during practice prior to the Emirates NBA Cup semi-finals at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Would an ascendant Milwaukee Bucks club, one that really seems to be piecing things together two months into its 2024-25 season, really ditch one of their core 2021 championship pieces for a far less consistently available replacement?

That's the idea behind a fascinating-if-strange new trade pitch.

In a fresh piece, William Moxon of FanSided's Behind The Buck Pass proposes a deal to upgrade the club's frontcourt defense while downgrading its scoring. Moxon suggests that the team ship out the 6-foot-10 Arkansas product and a 2031 second round draft pick in exchange for Robert Williams III.

Portis, 29, is a floor-spacing big man with solid rebounding acumen, who can help spell starting Bucks bigs Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez while adding an extra dimension of offense to the proceedings. He's finished among the top three in Sixth Man of the Year voting for each of the past two seasons. This year, Portis had a shaky shooting start, as Milwaukee stumbled to a 2-8 record in its first 10 bouts. As the Bucks righted the ship, so did Portis. In 24 healthy games this year, the veteran power forward/center is averaging 13.1 points on .478/.367/.724 shooting splits, 7.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.6 blocks and 0.5 steals in just 24.1 minutes per.

Williams would give the Bucks some extra rim protection, yes, but he is rarely healthy and not much of a scorer. The Bucks' two starters are excellent defenders. Milwaukee's biggest defensive issue is along the perimeter, although Porter's reasonable $12.1 million contract makes him a viable trade chip in any deal.

"Robert Williams III has been a target for many teams since heading to Portland, as he provides brilliant rim protection and is versatile defensively. When Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez sit, the Bucks struggle with interior defense," Moxon writes. "Williams would bring just that, as he averages 1.9 blocks per game and a steal per game, compared to Portis' 0.6 steals and 0.6 blocks per game."

"He has only featured in seven games this season, but Williams is holding opponents to just 35.7 percent shooting from the field, something no one in the Milwaukee Bucks rotation comes close to," Moxon adds. Williams has since suited up for an eighth game.

Adding the 27-year-old Williams, who's making a comparable $12.4 million this year, would be treating the wrong symptom. The 6-foot-9 vet, a one-time All-Defensive Teamer, has struggled with health throughout his career, and is probably more trouble than he's worth for the Bucks.

"Offensively, he may not provide the same threat as Portis, but he still scores 9.6 points on 71.1 percent from the field. With star forwards Karl-Anthony Towns, Evan Mobley and multiple names on the Boston Celtics, Williams would give the Bucks much more defensive help to slow those guys down and allow Giannis and Lopez to defend other players."

Williams has never played more than 61 games in a given year. Across his past three seasons, he's only suited up for 49 of a possible 190 regular season games for the Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers.

Portis, meanwhile, has played in 70 or more games for the Bucks in each of the last three regular seasons, including all 82 of Milwaukee's bouts last year. He has yet to miss a game this season.

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