Latest news with #Portis
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Could the Nets' trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo hinge on Bobby Portis?
The Brooklyn Nets have multiple decisions to make this summer from their five picks in the 2025 NBA Draft to the players that they will sign in free-agency. Aside from the draft and free-agency, Brooklyn will also have the ability to make trades for specific improvements, but one of the players that the team is reportedly interested in appears to still have an uncertain future. Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis recently made an appearance on FanDuel TV's "Run It Back" show and he discussed whether Giannis Antetokounmpo will still in Milwaukee or not. Among other things, Portis said that Antetokounmpo is looking to be like former legends in Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, and Stephen Curry when it comes to spending his entire career with one team. However, Antetokounmpo seemed to pass the buck back to Portis. Advertisement In an comment on the video of Portis, Antetokounmpo wrote "Don't worry about me. What you doing, Bobby? You staying or leaving?" seemingly implying that Portis' future could influence what Antetokounmpo does this offseason. How all of this relates to the Nets is that the franchise is reportedly hoping that Antetokounmpo is available for trade this summer, but there are also reports that he has not communicated wanting a trade at this time. Antetokounmpo's future with the Bucks has been heavily-debated over the past few seasons given that Milwaukee hasn't been able to replicate the success that the team had during the 2020-21 season when they won the NBA championship. Following this year's 4-1 series loss at the hands of the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs along with Damian Lillard's achilles injury, Milwaukee could be in a worse spot to compete next season with the current roster. As of this writing, it seems that Antetokounmpo will stay with the Bucks, but it is also possible that he is waiting to see what Portis and other free-agents do before he decides if he wants to stay in Milwaukee. Based on reports, Brooklyn is hoping that Antetokounmpo wants out, especially since they have plenty of cap space and draft capital to make something substantial happen this offseason. This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Could the Nets' trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo hinge on Bobby Portis?
USA Today
11-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Could the Nets' trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo hinge on Bobby Portis?
Could the Nets' trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo hinge on Bobby Portis? The Brooklyn Nets have multiple decisions to make this summer from their five picks in the 2025 NBA Draft to the players that they will sign in free-agency. Aside from the draft and free-agency, Brooklyn will also have the ability to make trades for specific improvements, but one of the players that the team is reportedly interested in appears to still have an uncertain future. Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis recently made an appearance on FanDuel TV's "Run It Back" show and he discussed whether Giannis Antetokounmpo will still in Milwaukee or not. Among other things, Portis said that Antetokounmpo is looking to be like former legends in Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, and Stephen Curry when it comes to spending his entire career with one team. However, Antetokounmpo seemed to pass the buck back to Portis. In an comment on the video of Portis, Antetokounmpo wrote "Don't worry about me. What you doing, Bobby? You staying or leaving?" seemingly implying that Portis' future could influence what Antetokounmpo does this offseason. How all of this relates to the Nets is that the franchise is reportedly hoping that Antetokounmpo is available for trade this summer, but there are also reports that he has not communicated wanting a trade at this time. Antetokounmpo's future with the Bucks has been heavily-debated over the past few seasons given that Milwaukee hasn't been able to replicate the success that the team had during the 2020-21 season when they won the NBA championship. Following this year's 4-1 series loss at the hands of the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs along with Damian Lillard's achilles injury, Milwaukee could be in a worse spot to compete next season with the current roster. As of this writing, it seems that Antetokounmpo will stay with the Bucks, but it is also possible that he is waiting to see what Portis and other free-agents do before he decides if he wants to stay in Milwaukee. Based on reports, Brooklyn is hoping that Antetokounmpo wants out, especially since they have plenty of cap space and draft capital to make something substantial happen this offseason.
Indianapolis Star
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
'Double-A is willing to die for this.' Aaron Nesmith's block a sign of his selflessness
Game 5: Bucks at Pacers, 6 p.m., Tuesday; TV: NBA TV, FanDuel MILWAUKEE -- Aaron Nesmith was motivated partly by chagrin. The Pacers forward was beyond the 3-point arc at the top of the key when teammate Tyrese Haliburton took and missed a 3-pointer at the right elbow. Nesmith saw Bucks forward Bobby Portis contest the shot and keep running down the floor, but instead of getting back on defense, Nesmith kept his eyes on the ball as Pacers forward Obi Toppin got his hands on an offensive rebound but missed a tip in. At that point, Portis was most of the way down the floor, and when Bucks guard A.J. Green got his hands on the ball and Nesmith still hadn't dropped back beyond half court, he knew he was in trouble. "It actually was a breakdown in our defense," Nesmith said. "He shouldn't have been able to get behind us. I saw him out of the corner of my eye take off and I just knew I had to go make a play." The play he made gave perhaps the most convincing evidence yet of what Nesmith's teammates already knew to be true. The Pacers are a team built on selflessness and players who are willing to sacrifice for the greater good. But no one on the squad is willing to risk his physical well-being more than Nesmith. The 25-year-old turned and broke immediately into a full sprint and caught up to Portis quick. He was in the paint by the time Portis caught the ball, but Portis was right at the rim and still had the edge. Nesmith took one more step and launched himself into the air from the edge of the restricted area, got his right hand well enough above the rim and swatted it away as he was turning. The turn cost him a lot of his body control at that point, however. He made contact with Portis under the basket, made a 360-degree spin, felt his feet slide out from underneath him immediately as they hit the floor and landed flat on his back. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. But as he labored to push himself up and hobble down the floor, Nesmith saw his effort was worth it. Haliburton collected the ball off the block and took it the distance for a scoop shot through contact that turned into a three-point play. Instead of allowing the Bucks to get back within 11 points just before the end of the third quarter, Nesmith's block helped the Pacers go up 16. They ended up with a 17-point lead at the end of the period and eventually broke Milwaukee's will in the fourth, claiming a 129-103 win that gives Indiana a 3-1 series lead in the NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series and gives them a chance to clinch and advance in Game 5 on Tuesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Nesmith scored 14 points in his 25 minutes, the Pacers were +26. "He sacrificed himself, man," said Pacers center Myles Turner, the franchise's all-time blocks leader. "Landing on your back like that is not fun, but it sparked a big play for us. That's just not new for him. It's very on par for what Aaron Nesmith brings to our team. Just a hard-nosed guy. I think he does an amazing job of just selling out. He'll go out there and just put his body, his life on the line for the team." Turner wasn't the only Pacers player to suggest there is truly no limit to how far Nesmith would go to make a play that had to be made. It was perhaps an awkward time to engage in such a discussion considering Bucks point guard Damian Lillard suffered a left leg injury feared to be an Achilles tendon tear that would end his season, something the Pacers all sent thoughts and prayers Lillard's way for. Still, it was a sincerely held assessment. "That's who Double-A is," Haliburton said. "What he brings doesn't always show up on the scoresheet. Some people say, like, they're willing to die for this. Double-A is willing to die for this. He gives it his all every night and I think every team in the NBA wants a guy like Aaron Nesmith. Every team who wins big and ultimately wins it all always has a guy like Aaron Nesmith." Nesmith bowed his head with humility when presented with his teammates' words, but he didn't say they were taking it too far. "It's pretty accurate," Nesmith said. "This game is my life. I work so hard just to be able to do what I can do on a daily basis. I really would. I would go out there and give my life for this game. I want to win a championship. I think everybody in this room wants to win a championship. You have to sacrifice a lot to be able to do that." Nesmith has been to the NBA Finals before but barely got to experience it. The former Vanderbilt star was taken No. 14 overall in the 2020 draft by the Celtics, but that meant he was stuck behind All-NBA wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and his playing time was limited in his first two seasons. In his second year, the Celtics reached the 2022 NBA Finals before losing to the Warriors and Nesmith played a grand total of 52 minutes in 15 playoff appearances. He played in five NBA Finals games but played 2:02 or less in four of those games. Since the Pacers acquired him in July of 2022 he's been more than willing to take on any dirty work job to get on the floor. At 6-6, 215 pounds, Nesmith is built as a natural small forward or even a big shooting guard, but the Pacers didn't have a natural power forward and he eventually won the starting job at the 4 in 2022-23 because he proved to be the player most willing to stand in the way of freight train forwards such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James. He didn't always win those battles and he rarely shut them down, but he kept signing up for more and more physical punishment. The acquisition of Pascal Siakam in January of 2024 has allowed him to move full-time to his natural position as the Pacers' small forward, but he's still one of the Pacers' top perimeter defenders along with guard Andrew Nembhard so he has a tough assignment every night. And whenever he's on the floor and SIakam isn't, he often still does switch his matchup to guard a power forward. That has meant in this series he's had to try to defend Antetokounmpo again even though he's giving up 5 inches and 27 pounds on paper and probably more in reality. The two-time MVP has been dominant in this series just as he's been whenever the Pacers have played him, but any amount of resistance the Pacers can have on him is helpful and Nesmith has been more than willing to try. And when Nesmith has guarded players his size in this series, he's been excellent. He's been the primary defender on Bucks small forward Kyle Kuzma to start the game each night. Kuzma averages 17.0 points per game for his career, but in this series he's averaging 6.0 points per game on 33.3% shooting. Nesmith spent some stretches on Lillard and helped keep him from developing a rhythm and he's bounced around onto other players who have come off the Bucks' bench. Outside of Antetokounmpo, who is averaging 33.8 points and 14.3 rebounds per game, the Pacers have mostly held the Bucks in check. There have been breakouts from Portis in Game 2 and Gary Trent Jr. with his 37 points on nine 3-pointers in Game 3, but the Bucks have just three other scorers averaging in double figures. Offensively, meanwhile, Nesmith's game continues to grow. He's been an excellent floor spacer and catch-and-shoot threat since the Pacers acquired him — which makes him a seamless fit in the Pacers' offense — and he's become more aggressive in looking for his own shot and driving the ball. He scored 14 points Sunday on 5-of-8 shooting including 2-of-5 from 3-point range. He's scored in double figures in each of the past three games and is averaging 13.8 points per game on 54.1% shooting including 52.4% from 3-point range. This comes after his most efficient offensive regular season yet. Though he missed 35 games from Nov. 1 to Jan. 16 with a severely sprained ankle, he finished with 12.0 points per game with career highs in field goal percentage (.507), 3-point field goal percentage (.431) and effective field goal percentage (.617). He also had by far his best free throw shooting season, knocking down 91.3% of his attempts at the line. He was particularly effective after the All-Star break, averaging 15.0 points per game on 52.2% shooting including 45.3% from beyond the arc and 92.2% from the line. "It's just experience," Nesmith said. "Being in these positions before playing in these big moments. Just being more comfortable. ... My teammates are putting me in a good spot to be great. Taking what the defense gives me, not forcing, not overstepping, just playing good quality basketball." Because he's been playing such good quality basketball, the Pacers need him on the floor so they were a little nervous when he stayed down on the floor for a bit after the block. He admitted after the game he was in pain, but nothing he wasn't more than willing to play through. "It's a little stiff," Nesmith said. "I'll rub some dirt on it and be alright."
Indianapolis Star
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
More trash talk, more double technicals. Pacers, Bucks really don't like each other
Milwaukee's Bobby Portis Jr. was called for a taunting technical foul with 7:12 left in the third quarter of Game 4 of its NBA playoff series against the Indiana Pacers. Indiana's Aaron Nesmith drove to the basket and was fouled. As Nesmith lay on the floor with the ball, Portis approached him and tried to take the ball from him. Players from both teams traded words and were separated by the officials. Later in the third quarter, Ryan Rollins and Indiana's Jarace Walker each got a technical. Milwaukee's Kevin Porter Jr. and Nesmith each got a technical foul in the second quarter after exchanging words during a dead ball the prompted coaches from both teams to separate them. Portis and Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton playfully chatted in first-half action.
New York Times
09-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Bucks' comeback: How Bobby Portis inspired the most remarkable win of the season
MILWAUKEE — After Donte DiVincenzo knocked down his fifth 3-pointer of the night with 10 minutes, 9 seconds remaining on Tuesday, the Minnesota Timberwolves had a 24-point lead, their largest, over the Milwaukee Bucks. Despite winning four straight games in which they had averaged 122.8 points per game, the Bucks had managed only 71 points in the game's first 38 minutes and seemed destined to see their winning streak snapped with an ugly loss to the Timberwolves. Advertisement But that wasn't how Bobby Portis wanted his first game back after a 25-game suspension to end, so he informed his teammates they would keep fighting. 'There was new energy out there,' Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. said when asked why the Bucks didn't quit when they went down by 24. 'We got our man back. Bobby, man. He gave us life. 'He saw how the game was going and his dynamic came out. He huddled us all together and said, 'How do we want to go out?' He said it's a long game and this win will be a little bit of the playoffs, how it feels. We heard him and we responded well.' That was a slight understatement from Porter. The Bucks responded remarkably in the next eight minutes and 22 seconds of game action. With a 34-3 run, the Bucks (45-34) flipped the game and pulled off an unbelievable 110-103 win to push their winning streak to five. The Bucks now hold a two-game lead over the Detroit Pistons for the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. On Thursday, the Bucks host the New Orleans Pelicans while Detroit has a home game against the New York Knicks before the Bucks and Pistons end the season with games against each other on Friday in Detroit and Sunday in Milwaukee. If the Bucks win and the Pistons lose on Thursday, Milwaukee would clinch the fifth spot before heading to Detroit. Giannis Antetokounmpo was spectacular once again with 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists, his third consecutive triple-double. Porter Jr. added 21 points, four rebounds, four assists and five steals, and Portis put up a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds in his first game since the Bucks' Feb. 12 win over the Timberwolves in Minnesota. While all three individual performances were noteworthy, Tuesday's performance was all about the team effort in the comeback to close the game. Advertisement With 10:31 remaining and after a brief rest, Antetokounmpo entered the game to play alongside four players — Porter, Portis, AJ Green, Gary Trent Jr. — that Bucks coach Doc Rivers used off the bench against the Timberwolves. To start the fourth quarter, the Bucks moved to a zone defense to slow the game and force Minnesota to beat them with the 3-point shot. It worked with Antetokounmpo and the bench unit on the floor. 'Zone's an amazing thing,' Rivers said. 'If you get a couple of stops, then the third and the fourth, it starts becoming a little mental (with the opponent). … We looked at the numbers and we felt like this is a team we can zone a little bit with some of the lineups they have on the floor. 'And listen, they missed some shots, but we created a lot of turnovers. We rebounded the ball. And more importantly, what it created were stops so we can get out and run. Because we didn't do that all game because they were scoring every time. So heck of a win.' Immediately after DiVincenzo's 3, the Bucks responded quickly by scoring on their next three possessions and putting together an 8-0 run that cut Minnesota's lead to 16 as Timberwolves coach Chris Finch called a timeout with 9:06 remaining. Antetokounmpo got a dunk on the Bucks' first possession out of that timeout, but neither team scored for 90 seconds until Antetokounmpo knocked down a 3 to cut the Wolves' lead to 11. After Antetokounmpo's 3, the Bucks forced a turnover — one of eight committed by the Timberwolves in the fourth — and ran the court, but the Timberwolves got back on defense. Even with all five Bucks running at them, Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle were in position to cut off Porter by the time he reached half court, where they forced Porter to pick up his dribble. Unfortunately for them, Porter picked up his dribble because he wanted to flip it to Green for a 3 from 32 feet. 'Love it,' Rivers said when asked what he thought when Green pulled up for that 3. 'We tell him to jack 'em.' Green's audacious transition triple inspired Finch to call another timeout with 6:42 remaining as the Bucks cut the Timberwolves' lead down to single digits for the first time since midway through the third quarter. Advertisement But timeouts were not going to stop the Bucks' run. 'When you're in it, you don't understand it because you think, like, 'OK, we got four stops, they're going to score on the fifth possession,' ' Antetokounmpo said. 'And then you get the fifth stop. And then you get the sixth stop. And then you get this seventh stop. And you're like, 'Uh oh, when are they going to score?' 'Then you can see it in their eyes. They're kind of trying to force things, and that's when you know you're making a difference. You got them.' As the Timberwolves got more and more flummoxed offensively, Porter and Trent turned up the pressure at the top of the zone. They pushed Minnesota further from the basket and made passes into the middle of the zone even tougher. Eventually, the only shots the Timberwolves could create were 3-point attempts, and the Bucks used it for fuel for their offense. It took a little more than six minutes, but eventually Randle ended the Timberwolves' scoring drought with two free throws with 4:56 remaining. Those free throws ended a 23-0 run, but the Bucks were not done. Three possessions after Randle's free throws, the Bucks forced another turnover, and Antetokounmpo found Green for a corner 3 in transition to tie the game with 3:35 remaining. 'Everyone in the world knows what AJ can do and what he does,' Porter said. 'And that's be a lights-out shooter and defend. Every shot, I think, is going in when he shoots it, especially when it's quick and decisive.' On the next defensive possession, Porter tried to fight over the top of a screen by Minnesota center Rudy Gobert and the two players got tangled up. As Gobert tried to shed Porter, he fell to the ground, and Porter let the Timberwolves' big man hear about it. As Porter did that, Gobert grabbed his leg and got up off the floor to meet Porter face-to-face. Advertisement Porter and Gobert pushed each other, and players from both teams got together to support their teammates, but also quickly separated them. Antetokounmpo sprinted toward the action and immediately pulled Porter away from Gobert. After the officials separated both teams (with assistance from each team's coaching and security staff), they reviewed the play, assessing a double foul to Porter and Gobert, a double technical to Porter and Gobert and a technical foul to Trent. A post-play squabble can sometimes serve as the wake-up call for a team needing to get back in the game. It can also be the moment when things unravel again for the team that had fought their way back into the game. After the game, though, Rivers told reporters he felt like he knew his team was going to be able to maintain their comeback because of the player who told him they needed to rein in Porter's emotions. 'It was so funny,' Rivers said. 'When the Rudy and Scoot thing got (going), Bobby came over to me and said, 'Coach, we gotta calm Scoot down.' When I heard that, I knew we were in a good place.' In his first game back after serving a 25-game suspension, rather than escalating the situation, Portis helped calm Porter and got the team focused on trying to win the game. And that is exactly what the Bucks did. After Edwards knocked down the technical free throw, Trent and Portis traded deflections to create a steal that led to a breakaway dunk for Porter. On the next Timberwolves possession, Porter picked off a pass and ran it the other way for a dunk. Another strong defensive possession forced a late shot-clock 3-point miss by Naz Reid. Antetokounmpo grabbed the rebound and threw it ahead to Porter, who attacked and drew a foul to hit two more free throws. Then, after six straight points, Porter decided to share the wealth following another steal and set up Antetokounmpo for the exclamation point on one of the most ridiculous comebacks in the NBA this season: 'I'm human at the end of the day,' Porter said. 'I felt the play that was made wasn't a basketball play. We were being physical, but that's the nature of the game at the end of the day. But having those guys say, 'Hey, let's win this game. We need you.' 'Having guys that were, like, 'Yeah, we probably would have reacted the same, but it's bigger than this and let's win this game. We need you.' That got me re-locked in. I was able to channel that energy. I was hyped, but as you can see, I channeled it into basketball mode and we got the win.' Advertisement With veteran leadership to keep him focused on the right things, Porter's talent is shining in Milwaukee, and his play has been one of the biggest positives for the Bucks in the season's final month. His energy defensively helped the Bucks flip the game and grab a win despite trailing by 24 points in the fourth quarter. Now, the Bucks can potentially clinch the East's fifth spot on Thursday, a possibility that seemed unimaginable at the start of the fourth quarter on Tuesday night. Sign up to get The Bounce, the essential NBA newsletter from Zach Harper and The Athletic staff, delivered free to your inbox. (Photo of Naz Reid and Bobby Portis: Michael McLoone / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
