Bobby Portis has been suspended 25 games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA anti-drug program by testing positive for the painkiller Tramadol, the league announced on Thursday.
The 30-year-old Milwaukee Bucks forward has averaged 13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists across 46 games this season while shooting 46.3% from the field and 36.4% from 3-point range. He won’t return until the final four games of the regular season. His suspension cannot be appealed, and he will serve it without pay.
“I am devastated for Bobby right now because he made an honest mistake and the ramifications of it are incredibly significant,” Portis’ agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, wrote in a lengthy statement. “Bobby unintentionally took a pain medication called Tramadol, thinking he was taking a pain medication called Toradol.”
Milwaukee was in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings (29-24) entering Thursday’s games. That’s just 4.5 games removed from the Play-In Tournament.
Without Portis, the Bucks will be forced to lean on Brook Lopez and possibly 6-10 center Jericho Sims. Milwaukee also acquired Kyle Kuzma at the trade deadline, a veteran small forward who could see frontcourt minutes in Portis’ absence.
Portis is one of the top reserves in the league at any position, and his suspension is the latest blow to an already thin rotation, although Milwaukee will be allowed to sign a replacement player after the fifth game of his suspension. And if the Bucks decline down the stretch, Brooklyn will benefit the most.
The Nets own Milwaukee’s first-round pick in 2025, which is currently projected at No. 19 overall, per Tankathon. So, the worse Milwaukee plays, the higher that pick gets. Even if the Bucks do wind up in the draft lottery, Brooklyn still gets the pick unless it falls into the Top 4. If that happens, the pick will go to the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Nets, winners of six of seven entering the All-Star break, are currently tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for the sixth-best lottery odds at 20-34. They are also owed first-round picks from the Houston Rockets and Knicks, which are currently projected at No. 24 and No. 26, respectively.
There are also reports that star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has grown frustrated in Milwaukee, and if the team fails to make a deep postseason run and prove it can be a sustained long-term winner, then he may be looking to take his talents elsewhere.
If Antetokounmpo asks out, the Knicks are the favorite to land him at +400 odds, per Bovada Sportsbook, followed by the Nets with +450 odds. Brooklyn is projected to have $55.5 million or more in cap space this summer.
