Bucks assign Kevin Porter Jr. to Wisconsin Herd for next step in recovery

MIAMI – Kevin Porter Jr. is taking the next step in his return from knee surgery, as the Milwaukee Bucks assigned their point guard to the Wisconsin Herd so he can practice.

Porter is with the team in Miami and was at their Nov. 26 shootaround at the Kaseya Center, and immediately afterward the Bucks assigned him to their G League affiliate. It's a procedural move, so Porter can practice.

The Herd does not play a game until Nov. 30.

“Being able to do my regular weights and my regular conditioning, like all those things, were building up factors that I had to wait and be patient the first two weeks, and that was the hardest time,” Porter said in his lone media availability on Nov. 19. “So, now that I’m back in the office, I’m back on the court, I’m doing little things at a time, it’s just great. It’s great to be around energy, too.”

Porter began the season as the Bucks' starting point guard and got off to an exciting start, scoring 10 points and handing out two assists in his first nine minutes of the Oct. 22 season opener against Washington before he rolled his left ankle. In a live practice setting on Oct. 30, he tore the meniscus in his right knee, which necessitated surgery on Nov. 3.

The Bucks set a four-week timeline for Porter's potential return and it appears he is on that track.

Acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers for MarJon Beauchamp at the trade deadline last season, Porter was a solid addition off the bench as he averaged 11.7 points on 40.8% shooting from behind the 3-point line. But in his final 12 games of the regular season, Porter averaged 15.3 points, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals while all-star point guard Damian Lillard was out with an injury.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Bucks assign recovering Kevin Porter Jr. to Wisconsin Herd