Former Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. says his ex-team made a mistake trading him to the Brooklyn Nets.
On Thursday night, the Nuggets were eliminated from the playoffs when the Minnesota Timberwolves won their first-round series 4-2 with a 110-98 victory. As the higher seed, and with the Wolves dealing with several key injuries throughout the series, the Nuggets were favored to win it and advance to the next round of the playoffs. But the Wolves had different plans, as they were able to pull off the upset and ruin the championship aspirations of the Nuggets.
Although Porter is not on the Nuggets anymore, of course, he still follows the team where he spent the first seven years of his NBA career. In a stream with N3ON after the Nuggets were bounced from the playoffs, Porter Jr. said that the Nuggets made a mistake trading him, and he believes they would have beaten Minnesota if he were still on the team.
“Yes,” Porter bluntly replied when asked if he thought the Nuggets would have won against Minnesota if they still had him on the team. “They shouldn’t have traded me, man.”
Michael Porter Jr. Criticizes Nuggets for Trading Him
In a salary-clearing move last summer, the Nuggets sent small forward Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected future first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for fellow forward Cameron Johnson. The Nuggets likely wanted to keep Porter around, as he was a key member of the 2023 Nuggets team that won the NBA Championship. But with the salary cap aprons in the NBA punishing high-spending teams, the Nuggets were forced to shed Porter from their roster.
Porter went to Brooklyn and had a fantastic season for the Nets, averaging 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3 assists in 52 games. Johnson, meanwhile, played in 54 games for the Nuggets. But he essentially provided half of Porter’s production, as he averaged only 12.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists for his new team. To be fair to Johnson, he was excellent for the Nuggets in the playoffs. But they ultimately lost the series to the Wolves, so his performance was all for naught.
Porter Believes in the Nets’ Potential
Although the Nets were one of the worst teams in the NBA this year, finishing with the league’s third-worst record at 20-62, Porter still has high hopes for his new squad going forward.
With plenty of young, talented players on the roster, plus lots of upcoming draft picks and money to spend in free agency this summer, Porter knows that the Nets are a team on the rise. He’s clearly still unhappy that the Nuggets traded him, but at the same time, he knows that he needs to move on with his career.
“Honestly, I’m living my best life in Brooklyn. Even though we didn’t do well this year, I see the future. We’re the youngest team in the league, and we’ve got a lot of money to spend. I think we go and get a really good player in the draft, as well. I think we’ll be alright,” Porter said.
Michael Porter Jr. Says Nuggets Made a Mistake Trading Him