The Milwaukee Bucks made a tough decision with Kevin Porter Jr. on the eve of this new season.
At least two other teams — the Denver Nuggets and the Sacramento Kings — have noticed.
No further action has been taken yet, but it could be coming in the days ahead. The season is only a week old, and already some squads know that they have to shake up their rosters to find the optimal look going forward.
Porter, who has always been a bit of an enigma but who also has a lot of basketball talent, could be involved in the solution somewhere.
Bucks Decision on Kevin Porter Jr.
The Bucks chose to cut Kevin Porter Jr. before roster cutdown day.
The 26-year-old playmaker was nearly on the team, but Milwaukee had acquired a lot of new talent both in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade and in the draft, and the Bucks chose to stick with their intentionality about those new players and let Porter go.
Porter had played in a total of 68 games over the past two seasons as injuries limited his time on the court since joining the Bucks from the Clippers midway through the 2024-25 season.
In 2025-26, he started 36 of the 38 games he played and averaged 33 minutes per night. In that action, Porter put up 17.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 2.2 steals per game.
His shooting numbers weren’t particularly efficient, but Porter was one of the guys initiating a lot of offense for the Bucks last season, particularly in stretches when Antetokounmpo was unavailable.
Unlike some end-of-preseason roster cuts, Porter clearly can contribute at the NBA level. The Bucks just decided it wouldn’t be with them, so now he’s a free agent.
Kevin Porter Jr. Rumors
A new report has linked Porter to two teams: the Nuggets and Kings.
NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported that news on Monday:
“Yet several teams, sources say, are still evaluating their respective backcourts and could emerge as potential Porter suitors depending on how things unfold. Two such teams, according to sources, are Denver and Sacramento.”
In a weird sort of way, the Kings feel like a classic landing spot for Porter. They’ve frequently picked up players other teams haven’t quite wanted in recent years, and there’d probably be a runway for Porter to put up numbers in Sacramento.
The Nuggets are more of a contender and would have a smaller role for Porter, but it’d be a chance for him to contribute to winning — and early-season injury concern for Cam Johnson could help his playing time there.
Porter hasn’t signed yet, but it seems like that could come sooner rather than later.
Bucks’ Kevin Porter Jr. Decision Gets 2 Teams Involved