Bobby Portis Signs With Bucks, Spurns Mavs

The Dallas Mavericks tried to sign free agent forward Bobby Portis, but he chose to re-sign with the Bucks instead.

Evan Massey | Aug 2, 2021

Throughout the first couple hours of NBA free agency, the Dallas Mavericks have been busy. They have re-signed Tim Hardaway Jr. and Boban Marjanovic, and they have also signed Sterling Brown and Reggie Bullock. One move they weren't able to close was bringing free agent forward Bobby Portis to Dallas.

According to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic, Portis chose to re-sign with the Bucks over the Mavs and the Miami Heat.

Portis turned down potential deals from the Mavericks and Heat, sources said. After six NBA seasons, Portis has found a home -- and will play to repeat as a champion next season.

Portis would have been a very intriguing pickup for the Mavericks. He would have given them excellent front-court depth and would have brought offense, energy, and solid all-around defense to the court.

During the 2020-21 NBA season with the Bucks, Portis ended up averaging 11.4 points per game to go along with 7.1 rebounds. He shot 52.3 percent from the floor overall and connected on 47.1 percent of his three-point attempts, although he only shot 2.4 threes per game.

Ending up back with the Bucks was not expected at one point recently. However, he took a hometown discount to return to the city that loves him so much. He quickly became a fan-favorite for Milwaukee.

This miss was certainly a surprise, as the Mavericks had not been connected to Portis throughout the free agency process. What this could mean is that Dallas is looking to improve in the front-court. If that is the case, there are still other free agency options they could consider.

Expect to see the Mavericks continue to stay active on the free agency market. They are looking to build a championship caliber team around Luka Doncic and have gotten off to a good start this offseason.

Published Aug 2, 2021

EVAN MASSEY