Kentavious Caldwell-Pope became the first casualty of the Denver Nuggets’ attempt to escape the punitive second apron while competing for a second NBA championship.
Michael Porter Jr. could be the next domino to fall as Jamal Murray’s four-year, $208.5 million extension approaches, according to ESPN’s NBA front office expert Bobby Marks.
Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report proposed a three-team trade that would allow the Nuggets to save more money while replacing him with two prior lottery choices.
Denver Nuggets Receive: F Cam Johnson, F Ziaire Williams.
Detroit Pistons Receive: F. Michael Porter, Jr.
Brooklyn Nets Receive: F/C Isaiah Stewart, SG. Tim Hardaway Jr., 2025 second-round pick (via Toronto Raptors), and 2027 second-round pick (via Detroit Pistons).
Cam Johnson is a Cheaper and Better Defender
Johnson may be a cheaper wing but a better defender than Porter, especially if he plays like he did in Phoenix. Playing for a contender might reenergize Johnson after a disappointing season in Brooklyn last year.
Johnson’s 3-point accuracy is 39.2%, which is close to Porter’s 41%.
“Swapping Porter for Johnson saves the Nuggets a lot of future money, though, as the latter will make $68.8 million over the next three years while the former stands to earn $115 million,” says Swartz.
Williams is a throw-in, but they can also take a chance on the former 10th overall pick in a contract year as a depth player or trade him at the trade deadline.
The Nuggets can retain their nucleus of Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon without surrendering Porter’s skill set by making these savings. Denver saves $6.1 million this season and another $6.1 million next summer when Williams’ deal ends, in addition to the wage shift from Porter to Johnson,” Swartz said.
Porter could give the spacing the Pistons need for their young core of Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, and Jalen Duren, while the Nets continue to accrue draft capital for their reconstruction and have an expiring contract that they can flip at the trade deadline, Swartz noted.
Offcourt Distractions Take Toll on Michael Porter Jr.
Porter Jr. was harsh on himself, accepting the majority of the blame for the Nuggets’ failure to defend their NBA championship.
“There are a lot of things we could’ve done differently as a team,” Porter told reporters following their Game 7 defeat to the Timberwolves. “But I know if I had done my share, we would have won the series. And I’ve got to deal with it.”
His performance in their second-round loss vs their first-round victory over the Los Angeles Lakers was night and day.
Porter Jr. could not reproduce his first-round performance of 22.8 points and 8.4 rebounds against the smothering Timberwolves defense, which limited him to only 11.3 points and 5.4 rebounds.
While he did not want his personal troubles to be used as an explanation for his bad performance, he acknowledged that they were on his mind.
“I’m not going to sit here and act like it wasn’t a burden and I wasn’t thinking about it all day every day,” Porter said the audience. “But that’s still not an excuse. I’m a better player now than I was during this series. I shoot better than I did in this series. In the NBA, you must be able to separate your off-court issues from your on-court performance.”
Two of the Nuggets star’s brothers were implicated in scandals.
Jontay Porter was barred from the NBA for gambling offenses and pled guilty to wire fraud, while Coban Porter was sentenced to six years in jail for killing a 42-year-old woman in a drunk driving accident last year.
