Kevin Porter Jr.
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Kevin Porter Jr. of the Milwaukee Bucks have been plagued by injuries this season.
The Milwaukee Bucks brought back Kevin Porter Jr. on a new two-year contract in the offseason. Porter has played well this season, but he has been plagued by injuries and has only appeared in 23 games so far. He has not played since January 21 after suffering a strained oblique.
Porter signed a two-year, $11 million contract to stay in Milwaukee last summer. He started the season scorching hot, scoring 10 points in nine minutes of the Bucks’ first game against the Washington Wizards.
However, Porter suffered a knee injury and was diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee, as reported by ESPN’s Jamal Collier. He was given a four-week recovery timetable and missed the next 19 games. He returned on November 29 against the Brooklyn Nets, roughly a week over his initial return timeline.
After playing in 22 consecutive games, Porter strained his oblique against the Atlanta Hawks and was ruled out indefinitely.
Porter Nearing Return to Action
The Milwaukee Bucks entered Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls with five players on their injury report, which includes Kevin Porter Jr.
According to The Athletic’s Eric Nehm, Bucks coach Doc Rivers provided some injury insights on some of his sidelined players before the win over the Bulls. Rivers mentioned that Bobby Portis will likely be ruled out, which he was, due to a hip injury.
Gary Harris is set to miss at least a couple more games, while Porter could return as soon as Wednesday in Milwaukee’s second game of a back-to-back against the New Orleans Pelicans.
However, Nehm noted that while Porter could get cleared before Wednesday’s game, it’s safer to think that he’ll make his return on Friday against the Indiana Pacers.
Rivers didn’t share an update on Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s recovery from a calf injury amid the trade rumors surrounding him. Antetokounmpo was present during shootaround and was doing floor workouts as part of his rehab from the strained calf that has plagued him this season.
Porter’s Initial Stance on Giannis Trade Rumors
Before the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade sweepstakes heated up over the past week, the Milwaukee Bucks superstar was adamant that he wanted to stay. However, the Bucks are not just a good team right now, and it might be better for both sides to move on at the deadline or in the offseason.
Back in December, Kevin Porter Jr. was asked about the persistent trade rumors surrounding The Greek Freak. Porter dropped his honest take on the issue and whether it’s affecting the locker room.
“Giannis does a great job of assuring that he wants to be here with this group specifically,” Porter said. “So we ain’t worried about all the outside noise. You know, that’s my brother, and I’m sure if it was something he would (want), he would come to us. But he’s with us, and we’re gonna hold it down until he’s ready.”
With the deadline looming, Giannis has been linked to the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers and New York Knicks.