The Bucks put up a guard Kevin Porter Jr of the waivers, sources told ESPN’s Shamsu Charanya (Link to Twitter).
Milwaukee had 16 players under guaranteed contracts and had to trade or waive one of those players to make a standard 15-man roster for the start of the regular season. For now Karis Levert and Jericho Sims viewed as possible odd men out, the Bucks instead opted to cut Porter after he averaged 17.4 points, 7.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game in 38 games last season.
While Porter has put up solid numbers in points and assists with each of his four NBA teams, he has been inconsistent as a shooter (.348 career 3PT%) and defender. He also wore out his welcome in Cleveland and Houston earlier in his career, when a locker room altercation ended his time with the Cavs and a domestic incident that led to his arrest led to his exit from the Rockets.
There was no indication that any inciting incident like this would cause the Bucs to waive Porter. Milwaukee apparently decided the 26-year-old’s expiring contract and the club’s strong backcourt depth made him expendable.
Even after parting ways with Porter, the Bucks have a guard Tyler Herro, Ryan Rollins, Braden Burris, Kaspar Yakuchonisand Gary Trent Jr under contract, with wing AJ Green and Karis Levert also among the team’s backcourt options.
Before waiving Porter, the Bucks reportedly explored trade options to solve their roster problem, including discussing a possible Sims trade with the Lakers. Nothing has panned out on that front, though, so Milwaukee will be on the hook for Porter’s $5.39 million cap hit for the upcoming season, assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers.
Porter could sign with any NBA team as a free agent, but with the current regular season lineup, many clubs around the league will not have the ability to bring him on board.