Bobby Portis Was Vacationing in Miami When the Trade Call Came. He Was Already There.

Bobby Portis got traded to the Miami Heat while he was literally already in Miami. The timing was so convenient it almost feels staged.

The veteran forward was on a family vacation in South Florida when his phone rang. It was Bucks general manager Jon Horst. That alone caught Portis off guard, because Horst doesn’t usually call him casually.

“I was actually in Miami at the time with my family. We were just hanging out. We got on a boat, chilling,” Portis told reporters. “Got back to the house that night, and we had just got back from dinner. Not even like 9 minutes, and then Jon called me.”

Portis said the call immediately felt different. “I was like, oh shoot, what’s John calling me for? Because Jon never calls me,” he said. “And then it happened. I was on the phone. It’s the news broke. It’s been a crazy two weeks, I would say.”

The trade sent Portis and Giannis Antetokounmpo to Miami in exchange for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, and a package of draft picks. It’s a blockbuster that reshapes both franchises, but for Portis, it’s also an emotional ending.

Portis on Milwaukee: ‘Small town kid, Arkansas’

Before packing for South Florida, Portis took a moment to reflect on his nine seasons in Milwaukee. He became known as the “Mayor of Milwaukee” for good reason. The city embraced him, and he embraced it back.

“It’s meant the world to me. Blue collar city that works hard. I look at myself like I’m one of them,” Portis said. “Small town kid, Arkansas. My population, where I’m from probably 200,000, 300,000, similar to here, right? Small town kid that works hard for everything he has.”

Portis landed in Milwaukee when his career needed a reset. He needed to prove he could be part of a winning team. “Super fortunate to get in this position, to be above, especially when my career was in super need of showing that I can impact winning,” he said. “It was great that I was able to be a part of this great franchise. Obviously, you don’t want things to end, but you have to understand the circumstances that’s at hand.”

For a guy who started as a role player and became a fan favorite, leaving Milwaukee isn’t easy. But driving to the arena from his hotel room? That part, at least, is a whole lot shorter now.