Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone is confident that Michael Porter Jr. is going to have a big summer:
“What I’ve seen from Michael this year in flashes, is a guy with tremendous size and length, that’s got deep range, that can shoot the ball, that can put the ball on the floor and has great athleticism to finish at the rim,” Nuggets head coach Michael Malone told The Denver Post. “This will be a really big summer for Michael.”
The Nuggets selected Porter with the 14th overall pick in last year's draft. However, he missed his first season in the NBA due to a back injury he sustained in college.
Porter suffered his back injury just two minutes into his freshman season with the Missouri Tigers, forcing him to miss all but two games of that campaign. Some experts felt he would be taken higher than 14th overall, but there were still lingering concerns about his back injury, which required multiple surgeries.
The fact that Porter is on the path to recovery is great news for the Nuggets, who were defeated by the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Semifinals, 4-3. According to several reports, he's planning to participate in this year's Summer League, which should leave him ample time to prepare for the 2019-20 NBA season.
If Porter is well enough to start the 2019-20 season, the Nuggets will likely look to play him right away, though he could be faced with a minutes restriction until it's clear that he has fully recovered. He has also been dealing with a foot injury that happened as a result of the back problems, so he'll need to get over that as well.
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