Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Tuesday, the team tweets. Porter will miss the rest of the season and the team has not yet determined a timetable for his recovery.
Porter hasn’t played since March 17, when he racked up 25 points and 10 assists against Cleveland. The 25-year-old put up good numbers when he was able to suit up this season but only appeared in 38 total games.
Porter averaged 17.4 points — the second-highest total of his career — and a career-best 7.4 assists per game in 2025/26. He also posted averages of 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals per night.
This is actually the second knee procedure for Porter this season. He sprained his left ankle in the Bucks’ season opener, and as he was working to make his way back from that injury, he sustained a torn meniscus in his right knee. The guard wound up missing another four weeks due to that injury following surgery and also missed four straight games earlier in March due to swelling in his right knee.
Porter Jr. was re-signed by the Bucks last summer on a two-year, $10.5MM contract that also included a $5.4MM player option for next season. He’ll have an interesting decision to make whether to take the guaranteed money or become a free agent again. His knee injury could factor into that choice.
Take the money. This guy‘s career has been touch and go the whole time and it seems like he’s found a fit with the Bucks?
Not sure about the drama surrounding the team.., if he should bail on the situation.., but I would advise him to opt in and take the money and build value next season for his next contract.
Knee surgery probably means he’s opting in. He otherwise had a chance to get a Ty Jerome style contract. Much improved as a passer this season.
I have him as roughly the #23 PG in the NBA sandwiched between Immanuel Quickley & Ty Jerome.
Given that he’s a polarizing figure, he could easily be like Russell Westbrook looking at the minimum if there are too many PGs in a FA class.
I’d say Porter is the 4th or 5th best free agent guard this summer. I’ll put his next contract at $12-15 million per year.
I actually have him as the #3 guard, but a lot of his value really depends on how teams view him relative to someone like Coby White. It should also be noted this draft has a lot of top PG talent which is going to squeeze the available roster spots.
ALL-STAR LEVEL
Austin Reaves (P / 14.9M)
Norman Powell
STARTER LEVEL
Kevin Porter Jr (P / 5.4M)
C.J. McCollum
Collin Gillespie
Russell Westbrook
Marcus Smart (P / 5.4M)
Coby White
Anfernee Simons
Collin Sexton
Ayo Dosunmu
Bennedict Mathurin (RFA)
Tim Hardaway Jr
QUALITY ROLE (Above Vet Minimum)
Quentin Grimes
Luke Kennard
Keon Ellis
De’Anthony Melton (P / 3.5M)
Landry Shamet
Jose Alvarado (P / 4.5M)
Brandon Williams
Bones Hyland
That’s a pretty good list. I would say Coby should definitely be 3rd. And I’d move Westbrook and Smart down by Hardaway.
I think all those guys from Porter down to Mathurin should get around the mid level. There are a lot of them for sure, but also a lot of teams that need another guard. For the teams with cap space, they can make an offer above the MLE and pick their favorite.
The difference in quality between the players in the Starter tier is mostly flat (you could make arguments for any players over the other and thus why they all fall into the same tier). I sorted the starters at the top).
FWIW I should also have Melton in this tier also. He actually serves as another interesting test case similar to Porter in that he’s outplayed his contract but his injury history gives him some nebulous value.
(Porter & McCollum technically fall into “Quality Starter” range, the rest are basically replacement level starters)
I love your list and analysis and for putting in the time to give us the info.
I’m wondering, though, in your starters list, are most of those guys really starting guards anymore?
In my opinion, more than half will be coming off the bench and should be in the quality role player category?
The Starters tier is really “Starting Caliber” (i.e. 6th man level guys).
Shooting Guard is an interesting position in that there isn’t a lot of top end talent but there is a ton of depth. There isn’t much difference between the 15th best SG and the 40th best SG.
Point Guard by comparison has much more quality as about 20 players fall into ALL-STAR (or better). Coby White lands as about the #38 PG in the NBA. There are teams he could start for, but he’d be a 6th-7th man on a lot of playoff teams.
At Power Forward this distinction is a bit more clear. Only 32 players qualify as “Starter quality”. My 33-38 range for PFs includes the likes of Keegan Murray, Precious Achiuwa, Gui Santos, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Rui Hachimura, and Dominick Barlow.
Some of those guys are starting given the limited talent on their teams, but shouldn’t be. Most everyone would consider Coby White a higher level of player.
OK, that makes a ton of sense. Yes, a sixth man is definitely “starter quality” given the minutes he plays and his role on the team.
And thanks for this additional info. It sure is going to be an interesting off-season, especially for a warrior fan whose roster is in need of major shake up.
NBA 2K’s Overall Rating Tiers
95-99 = MVP
90-94 = ALL-NBA
85-89 = ALL-STAR
83-84 = QUALITY STARTER
80-82 = STARTER
78-79 = QUALITY ROLE
75-77 = ROLE PLAYER
70-74 = RESERVE
65-69 = MINOR LEAGUE
Many attributes are based on player stats so there’s natural correlation to player production.
Once I started grouping players by these tiers I started noticing contract trends. For example the reason why I distinguish between “Quality Role” (78-79) is players in the 75-77 range are typically getting the minimum in free agency IRL.
(2026 Free Agent PG class examples: Gabe Vincent, Jevon Carter, Mike Conley Jr, Cam Payne)
Players in the 70-74 Range are a tier below that in status and generally getting non-guarantees of some sort (Team Options, Partials, etc). So long as they have upside worth a gamble. For veterans, these guys are in danger of falling out of the league.
2026 FA PG examples: Tyus Jones, Jordan McLaughlin, Blake Wesley, Kyle Lowry
Players below that are generally Two-Ways / G-League guys.
(To be clear I am not advocating for 2K Sports’ ratings as appropriate or accurate, I simply discerned this grading scale that they may or may not be aware of in their own game)
I’m a big fan of this. Bravo!
Wash, check out his write up and details on the Kings. It’s outstanding and I’m adding the link here.
link to hoopsrumors.com
Yeah I agree needs to put a couple of yrs together. Show he’s for real. He was having a solid yr. Hope he is finally growing up. He is talented.
Another kid Bulls hope will griw up right. Is Dillingham, had a nice gm tonight. Still young lols. You have be patient with you g talent. But you have to coach them up. Dillingham needs to get his ast up. Too small to be just a scorer. 27 mins, 26 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl
On another note P Willians — 32 mins, 20 pts, 7 reb,
6 ast, 3 stl … geez man.
Yeah if he doesn’t pass the ball he will be out the league in 5-6 years. But I agree AL got to give him time.
Giannis knows Porter Jr and Ryan Rollins are playing for themselves this year. They need to go
“On another note P Willians — 32 mins, 20 pts, 7 reb,
6 ast, 3 stl … geez man.”
Prisoner of the moment Al at it again.
Patrick Williams (2026 season)
7.5 PER (Career low)
48.5 TS% (Career low) on 16.6 USG%
3.8 ORB%
11.4 DRB% (Career low)
1.4 STL%
1.5 BLK% (Career low)
-3.7 OBPM (Career low)
-1.3 DBPM (Career low)
-5.0 BPM (Career low)
Patrick Williams hasn’t been an NBA player the entire season. Nobody (besides you) cares about stats against the Washington Wizards. Bam scored 83.
Williams since March 1st:
4.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 20.4 MPG
27.5 FG%, 17.6 3PT%, 62.5 FT%
2-11 Team Record