NBA Trade Rumors: Bucks considering moving $49 million forward before deadline
The Milwaukee Bucks are trying to improve their roster before the NBA trade deadline. According to recent rumors, Milwaukee is willing to trade Bobby Portis Jr. for rotational upgrades.
Portis is currently signed to a four-year contract worth $49 million. He has two years remaining in his contract, totaling his remaining salary to almost $26 million.
Given Portis' value, the Bucks have a valuable trade piece to acquire a player who could be a better fit for the team. Looking at the Milwaukee forward's numbers, he's averaging 13.1 points and 7.7 rebounds.
His accuracy is decent, shooting 47.8% from the field. While Portis' numbers aren't bad, it seems that Milwaukee wants a player who can produce more.
Milwaukee Bucks set to face OKC Thunder in NBA Cup Finals with current roster
While the Milwaukee Bucks are looking to improve their roster before the NBA trade deadline, they have more important things to think about as they advance to the NBA Cup Finals. Milwaukee took care of business in the semi-final game against the Atlanta Hawks. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard led their team to victory.
After Milwaukee's game concluded, the OKC Thunder took on the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference NBA Cup semi-finals. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came through for OKC once again and led them to the NBA Cup Finals. The Thunder and Bucks are now set to face off on Tuesday night.
The key matchups in the finals will be between the duos of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, then Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams.
Between the duos, Antetokounmpo and Lillard have the edge in terms of numbers. The Milwaukee duo are averaging a combined 58.4 points per game. As for Gilgeous-Alexander and Willaims, they're averaging a combined 52.0 ppg.
However, if we're to look at how each team has performed so far this season, the Thunder has the upper hand. OKC is currently the top team in the Western Conference with a 20-5 record.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee is sitting in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a 14-11 record. While Cream City has made up for their losses from the start of the season, the Thunder proved to be consistent.
The NBA Cup Finals game between Milwaukee and OKC seems to be a neck-and-neck matchup. It'll likely come down to which duo can carry their team to victory.