Bucks Land Kevin Porter Jr in Smart Trade With Clippers

The Milwaukee Bucks are adding some major backcourt depth, swinging a deal to acquire embattled guard Kevin Porter Jr. from the L.A. Clippers just ahead of Thursday's trade deadline.

Per longtime league insider Chris Haynes, the Bucks are offloading small forward MarJon Beauchamp, who saw his fourth-year team option not picked up at the start of the season and was out of Milwaukee's rotation already this year.

Los Angeles Clippers are trading Kevin Porter Jr. to Milwaukee Bucks for MarJon Beauchamp, league sources tell me. pic.twitter.com/ePxBs30cUS
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 6, 2025

Porter is a talented athlete whose troubling personal life led to him suiting up for Greek team PAOK Basketball Club to close out the 2023-24 season.

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Among other off-court problems, Porter most infamously reached a plea agreement for misdemeanor harassment and assault in January of last year following a September 2023 attack of his girlfriend, former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick. According to Law Murray of The Athletic, Porter is still under investigation for the incident.

Despite this, L.A. inked him to a two-season minimum deal over the summer. Per Bobby Marks of ESPN, Porter will net a $129,245 trade bonus in the exchange.

Contracts: LAC/Milwaukee

To LAC

MarJon Beauchamp: $2.7M, UFA 2025

To Milwaukee

Kevin Porter Jr: $2.2M, $2.5M, Player-25

*⃣Note: $129,245 trade bonus for Porter Jr.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 6, 2025

Across 45 contests Porter is logging averages of 9.3 points on an inefficient slash line of .423/.245/.645, along with 3.6 boards, 3.2 dimes (against a concerning 1.9 turnovers) and 1.0 steals in 19.6 minutes per.

Porter's scoring issues could prove costly for the Bucks down the line, but he is a high-upside guard and, at 24, has room to grow. The Clippers outscored opponents by 5.4 points per 100 possessions when Porter has sat this season, while being outscored by 1.4 points per 100 possessions when he played.

So, beyond his questionable personal problems, Porter is also a weird fit on a team whose best player can't really shoot.

Acquiring Porter is the second major move the Bucks have made at this season's trade deadline.

In a three-team deal with the Washington Wizards and New York Knicks, Milwaukee brought in combo forward Kyle Kuzma in exchange for former three-time All-Star small forward Khris Middleton, who was no longer starting for the Bucks as he recuperated from a pair of surgeries to both ankles this summer. The Bucks also added a second rounder and rim-protecting New York backup center Jericho Sims.

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The Bucks also briefly added Knicks forward Patrick Baldwin Jr., but they quickly ditched him in a deal with the San Antonio Spurs for some cap relief.

Surprisingly, the Bucks managed to retain perhaps their most valuable trade asset through the deadline, their 2031 first rounder.

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