There are two main issues Milwaukee Bucks will need to answer this coming season and it is both tied with their decision to let Damian Lillard go. They are laking a second star and have no legit starting point guard. Head coach Doc Rivers is not that worried as he believes he got that one guy who is capable of fulfilling the role.
Kevin Porter Jr. came to the Bucks in February this year in a mid-season trade and proved himself to be a reliable back up point guard for the Bucks, especially when Dame was out for a whole month before returning for the playoffs (and got injured again).
KPJ played just 30 games for them and started only in two of those, averaging 11.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. He was also reliable in the playoffs, the first time ever in his career he reached that point, when he recorded 11 ppg.
Scoot left a mark on the team while playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo from the bench together with other bench options like AJ Green, Bobby Portis, and Gary Trent Jr. The Greek Freak even commented once that these guys are good enough to be their starters.
The 2019 30th overall pick was eventually rewarded a two-year, $11 million contract to run it back with the Bucks.
Milwaukee Bucks will rely heavily on KPJ
The Bucks no longer have the chance to sign a new player given their salary cap situation. And so, they are putting the main point guard duty to KPJ.
Rivers expressed faith that Porter Jr. has enough hunger to prove himself in the league. He also thinks that the 25-year-old is someone who can run the offense while being a threat himself, too.
“You think about Scoot and his career, he started out as a high draft pick,” Rivers said during media day via Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
“They put the ball in his hands. He could literally take any shot and he did, you know, and now he comes from that, from not playing at times, coming off the bench, being out of the league to now back to starting and that’s a huge responsibility for him to run the team and still be aggressive.”
Although they are investing on KPJ, Rivers insisted that he knows the player still has improvement to do but they will support him anyway.
Aside from KPJ, other players Bucks will tap for point guard role is Ryan Rollins who might come off the bench. Antetokounmpo, according to Rivers and GM Jon Horst, will also play a lot of point forward.
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