After Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left in free agency over the offseason, the Denver Nuggets could now be parting ways with a second starter from their 2023 NBA championship team.
Veteran NBA writer Marc Stein reported to Substack on Friday that the Nuggets have weighed whether to trade away forward Michael Porter Jr. ahead of the February deadline. Stein does note though that Denver may potentially prefer to trade Porter for two starting-caliber players rather than for a singular star with defensive limitations like Chicago’s Zach LaVine.
Porter is a career-long Nugget who started on that 2023 title team for Denver and offers a meaningful two-way impact with his jump-shooting ability as well as his length at 6-foot-10. The former lottery pick has also improved his all-around scoring game with 18.4 points per night on 51.4 percent from the field this season. Porter is in a contract sweet spot of sorts too in Year 3 of a five-year, $179 million deal at 26 years old.
We heard earlier this week that the Nuggets were looking into a potential trade for an All-Star scorer on a $35-plus-million contract. Attaching Porter there would be a realistic way to make that deal happen, but it sounds like Denver is also considering moving him for a two-wing combo at SG and SF.
