Since the unofficial start of the NBA's trade season on Dec. 15, much of the discussion surrounding which players might be on the move has focused on perennial All-Star and All-NBA-caliber performers with marquee names: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Trae Young, Ja Morant, et al. But with the Feb. 5 trade deadline now just over a month away, it seems like there's an increasing level of interest around the league in the availability of — and the potential market for — Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr.
Justsix months ago, the Nuggets sent the Nets an unprotected 2032 first-round draft pick to take on the final two years and $79.1 million of the five-year rookie-scale-maximum contract thatPorter signed in the summer of 2021. After an excellent start to his tenure in Brooklyn, though — one that has seen him play his way intopotential All-Star consideration— Porter may well have gone from distressed asset into in-demand target.
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reports that the Nets have shown a willingness to"listen to pitches"on their veteran players, including Porter, but they haven't been"actively shopping"the 27-year-old swingman. It's entirely possible that, asESPN's Shams Charaniaand others have reported, the Nets eschew a big move in favor of just continuing to serve as a cap-space-renting waystation for other teams looking to get off money and willing to pay with draft picks to do so.
If and when conversations begin to perk up over the next few weeks, though,Fischer highlighted several teams to keep an eye onin the potential running for Porter's services: the Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls. All four prospective suitors make at least some sense.
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According to multiple reports, despite a dismal 14-20 start that currently has them outside the East's play-in spots, the Bucks' braintrust continues to signal an intent to try to add talent at the deadline rather than detonating their build through any much-rumored-but-never-actually-consummated blockbuster that sends Antetokounmpo away from Milwaukee. While the Pistons sit atop the Eastern standings, they're a middling 10-7 since their scorching 15-2 start, ranking 25th or worse in theshare of their shots that come from 3-point range,team 3-point accuracyandhalf-court scoring efficiencyin that span, according to Cleaning the Glass.
The Warriors, similarly, have struggled mightily to find a consistent secondary source of offense beyond the seemingly ageless Stephen Curry. And while attempting to discern the motivations behind the machinations in Chicago has long been a mug's game,Fischer notes that the Bulls and Nuggets had "serious discussions"about a swap that would've landed Porter in the Windy City before pivoting and shipping Zach LaVine to Sacramento; it's at least possible a fresh round of discussions could be struck up with Brooklyn brass, if Chicago's decision-makers are still fond of Porter's talent.
And judging by what he's put on film this season, they — and plenty of other front offices around the league — should be.
Porter's averaging a career-high 25.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, shooting 58% on 2-pointers, 41% from 3-point land on more than nine attempts per game, and 81.2% from the free-throw line. There are only 14 NBA players this season averaging at least 25 points per game on .600 true shooting, according toStathead— a list that includes five MVPs (Curry, Nikola Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Durant, James Harden), three multi-time All-NBA selections (Luka Dončić, Anthony Edwards, Donovan Mitchell) and two former All-Stars (Lauri Markkanen, Tyrese Maxey). Porter is on that list.
That'sthe kind of company Porter's been keeping offensively this season — the cream of the crop of high-volume, high-efficiency point producers. He has also more than doubled his previous career-best assist rate, dishing the helper on nearly 20% of his teammates' baskets during his floor time, and is clearing the defensive boards more consistently than he has since his rookie season. And while he's not a top-flight defender on an individual basis, Porterhasshown a capacity to play his part in a defense playing at a top-flight level. Sinceshifting to supersized long-ball lineupsfeaturing Porter at small forward alongside the 6-foot-11 Nic Claxton and 6-10 Noah Clowney up front with 6-8 rookie Egor Dёmin and 6-6 vet Terance Mann in the backcourt, with plenty of size coming off the bench, Brooklyn ownsthe NBA's No. 3 defense since the start of December— all with Porterleading the team in minutes.
Add it all up, and by a handful of metrics —estimated plus-minus,value over replacement player,box plus-minusandplayer efficiency rating, among others — Porter has performed like a top-20-to-30 player in the NBA this season. A 6-10 sharpshooter who can contribute in a smaller role, can scale up his usage without a drop in efficiency, can cook with the ball in his handsandopen up both your playbook and the rest of the floor for his teammateswith his off-ball activity and gravitywould seem to have a lot of value around the league if he actually hits the market. Whether the fact that Porter's under contract for$40.8 million next seasonmakes him more attractive (not a rental!) or less attractive (big chunk of money on the books for a guy with persistent back problems and adrop-footissue!) likely lies in the eye of the would-be suitor.
The question the Nets have to answer between now and Feb. 5: Is this as good (and as healthy) as Porter's likely to be, making it the ideal time to sell high and try to getmoredraft capital and/or young talent for him in the perpetual game of asset arbitrage that rebuilding teams must play? Or is this really who Porter is, and what he can consistently be in Jordi Fernández's system — and, thus, maybe an ideal play-finishing building block for the upwardly mobile team that Sean Marks and Co. are trying to build with all those big, young playmakers?
The answer will likely depend on a number of factors: how Porter plays over the next month; how many teams think of themselves as just one moderately sized swing from playing more meaningful basketball come springtime; how motivated Brooklyn's front office is to do whatever it can to improve the chances of landing as high in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, given the fact that the Netsdocontrol their own first-round pick this summer, anddon'tcontrol it in 2027. (Though, asBrian Lewis of the New York Post notes, there could be other paths to dropping in the standings that don't include re-routing MPJ before February.)
Ultimately, though, it likely depends primarily on just how hefty a price other teams signal they'd be willing to pay for Porter.Fischer reports that"re-tradable salary and a future first-round pick … might not be enough" to pry him away mid-season, given the possibility that the Nets might have their sights set on making bigger, more aggressive additions to their roster come the summer — moves that might require a significant salary like Porter's as a financial make-weight. If someone ponies up a Mikal Bridges/Desmond Bane-style package of several legit first-round picks, then Porter will likely finish the season in a different uniform.
If not? Well, continuing to employ a top-25-to-35 player who fits what you want to do, and whoalreadynetted you an unprotected future first, doesn't seem like too bad a deal — even if it means one fewer potential deal for NBA observers to obsess over.
