Report: Milwaukee said no to Denver’s Kevin Porter Jr. offer before the cutdown deadline — then waived him outright, per Jake Fischer.
By The Beat Writer — CelebnMusic247
This is a report, not a completed trade: the Milwaukee Bucks turned down a chance to trade Kevin Porter Jr. to the Denver Nuggets before the roster cutdown deadline, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reports, via Hoops Rumors on Oct. 24. Denver’s offer, per Fischer, was two future second-round picks, a second-round pick swap and Zeke Nnaji.
Milwaukee walked away, sources tell Fischer, because it did not want to take on Nnaji’s $7.47 million player option for 2027-28 on top of the $7.47 million he makes this season, per Hoops Rumors. The Bucks then waived Porter on Monday and absorbed his $5.39 million cap hit, per Hoops Rumors — choosing the clean exit over the extra year of money, even with picks attached.
Why five cap specialists disagreed
Fischer used the decision as the centerpiece of a column on how front offices now prize “flexibility and optionality” under the apron system, per Hoops Rumors. He consulted five salary cap specialists from other teams, and they unanimously said they would have taken Denver’s offer, per Hoops Rumors — noting Milwaukee currently holds only four second-round picks, none between 2028 and 2032.
The specialists still understood the hesitation, per Hoops Rumors. Milwaukee faces an expensive summer ahead, with Tyler Herro an unrestricted free agent, Jaime Jaquez Jr. a restricted free agent and Ryan Rollins likely to decline his $4 million player option, per Hoops Rumors. Against that, Fischer points out the Bucks are projected to have nearly $50 million in cap space when free agency starts and to be safely out of luxury tax territory, and he questions whether Milwaukee will find a better use for that $7.47 million than Nnaji plus the draft assets, per Hoops Rumors.
Fischer also confirmed a second set of talks that went nowhere: Milwaukee and the Lakers discussed a swap involving Jericho Sims and Dalton Knecht, which fell apart because the Bucks insisted on two second-round picks while the Lakers would only part with one, per Hoops Rumors. Knecht was ultimately waived before signing with New York on Friday, per Hoops Rumors.
Read together, the two reports paint one front office with one rule this fall: no deal that costs Milwaukee its future flexibility — not for Denver’s picks, and not for Los Angeles’ either. Whether that discipline looks smart will be decided next summer, in the free-agent market the Bucks just protected.
The 247 Take — Turning down picks and then eating $5.39 million to waive the same player is the kind of move that only makes sense if the cap space turns into a real name next summer. Fischer’s specialists voted unanimously the other way — and if Milwaukee’s big summer never arrives, this report is the receipt everyone will pull back up.
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Sources: Hoops Rumors
