As the NBA trade deadline draws near, one of the names that’s seemingly come up quite a bit is Brooklyn Nets’ wing Michael Porter Jr. Porter is in the midst of an All-Star caliber season, and no doubt could help a contending team down the stretch of the season. Teams like the Golden State Warriors and possibly the Los Angeles Lakers have been thrown around in terms of a potential trade, but is Porter even going to be on the move?
In the weeks leading up to the trade deadline, the Nets reportedly are in no hurry to trade Michael Porter Jr., and if they do, it’s not going to be to the Warriors or Lakers, as per ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel.
For the Warriors, a combination of a high-asking price for Porter, as well as increased opportunity for players likely to be involved in a trade, has them looking elsewhere. When it comes to the Lakers, as has been mentioned before, the team does not want to jeopardize what’s expected to be ample cap space in the coming offseasons. Porter still has one more year left on a five-year, $179 million deal he signed with the Nuggets in 2022.
It makes sense as to why the Nets would want a lot of value in return should they choose to trade Porter. The No. 14 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, he’s flourished with an elevated role in being able to showcase his game in ways he wasn’t able to with the Denver Nuggets.
Porter has appeared in 34 games this season for the Nets, at a little over 32 minutes per game. He’s been averaging a career-high 25.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 steals with splits of 48.1 percent shooting from the field, 39.6 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 84.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
