With the 14th overall pick, the Denver Nuggets decided the reward outweighed the risk, drafting Michael Porter Jr. In doing so, they may have landed the steal of the draft. The 6'10” forward was the second-ranked player in his high school class, trailing only Marvin Bagley III, according to 247Sports.

However, Porter lasted only two minutes in his college debut before exiting with a back injury that eventually required surgery. The procedure—a microdiscectomy of his L3 and L4 spinal disks, according to Missouri—cast enough doubt over his NBA future that he took a steep, unexpected tumble down draft boards.

In the immediate aftermath of Porter's injury, NBA scouts told CBS Sports' Reid Forgrave he “ought not to fall past sixth” provided he checked out medically. One general manager told NBA.com's David Aldridge at the time it “would take a real problematic situation to cause a big draft slip. He should stay well within the top five.”

About that.

While Porter made his return to the court in March and played in two postseason games for the Tigers, he “ceased all basketball activity after the season, focusing his efforts on rehab after losing strength in his left leg in particular because of the injury,” according to ESPN.com's Jonathan Givony. “He was cleared to play just two weeks before his June 8 pro day,” Givony added, where he “reportedly felt only about 50 percent physically.”

michael porter jr.

Porter was initially scheduled to hold a workout for teams in Chicago last Friday, but he wound up cancelling it due to a strained hip, Givony reported. In lieu of the workout, teams were allowed to examine him with their own trainer and doctor to put to rest any lingering concerns about his back.

“There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with him right now,” one NBA executive told Givony following the exam. “But a conservative doctor could still [be concerned about] what might happen down the road.”

According to ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski, that's exactly what happened.

In an interview on The Will Cain Show on ESPN Radio on Monday, Porter suggested the recent concerns about his hip were overblown.

“It was just a little sore… so I told [my agent] my hip was a little sore, and he just wanted to shut it down for a couple of days,” Porter said. “And then people took that and kind of ran with it, saying, you know, my hip was injured, I couldn't get out of bed. None of that was really true. I was just sore and I wanted to take a couple of days off. So that's all that was.”

Either way, the Nuggets were in position to gamble at No. 14.

Nuggets

In Nikola Jokic, Gary Harris and Jamal Murray, Denver has the future foundation of its franchise in place. The Nuggets were one win-or-go-home game away from a playoff berth this past season, and that was with marquee free-agent acquisition Paul Millsap having played only 38 games. So long as Wilson Chandler picks up his $12.8 million player option for next season, Denver's only notable flight risk in free agency this summer is Will Barton.

The Nuggets are thus well-positioned to bring Porter along slowly. While forward depth behind Chandler is their biggest area of need at the moment, they can play around with different permutations of small-ball lineups in which Harris or Malik Beasley soak up some minutes at the 3 in the short term. Given their strong incumbent talent base, the Nuggets can remain patient with Porter if their doctors advise bringing him along slowly.

“The team that drafts him will be super cautious putting him on the court in live action,” Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reported Wednesday. “Sitting him for a majority, or all, of 2018-19 season is a real possibility.”

For teams in the top 10, Porter's questionable short-term availability may have outweighed the upside of his ceiling. Teams selecting that high often feel the need to bring in immediate difference-makers to help turn around their franchise. Since Porter reportedly felt only 50 percent earlier in June, it doesn't appear likely that he'll step in and dominate right away.

Michael Porter Jr., Tracy McGrady, Kevin Durant

On the other hand, his recent hip flare-up may not be as much of a long-term concern as it appears.

“It sounds normal,” Dr. Charla Fischer, a spine surgeon at NYU Langone Health, told SB Nation's Matt Ellentuck. “It seems like he had some leg muscle weakness from the disc herniation and has had to work on building strength back.”

Fischer told Ellentuck that the risk of re-herniation after a microdiscectomy is around 10 to 12 percent over the next five to 10 years, and “if he had that again, he'd elect to do another surgery.” However, that second surgery wouldn't affect his return to play or physical therapy, she said, nor would it “affect his chance of neurologic problems like weakness or numbness or tingling.”

If Porter avoids any further setbacks, he has the upside of a nightly 20-plus-points-per-game scorer. Though he should put the Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo comparisons on the backburner for the time being, his fluid shooting stroke could make him particularly lethal alongside an elite passing big man like Jokic. With opponents already having to sell out defensively against Harris and Murray, Porter's presence in Denver's lineup could stretch foes past their breaking point.

The odds of finding a 10-year starter with a mid-round pick aren't great, which makes it the perfect time to swing for the fences. While medical concerns could derail Porter's career before it ever takes off, his upside makes him a potential home run pick for Denver if he stays healthy and regains the form that made him such a highly sought-after recruit.