Denver Nuggets vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Denver Nuggets vs Minnesota Timberwolves

If the Denver Nuggets want to return to the NBA Finals next season, they don’t have much margin for error. Nikola Jokic must continue to play like an MVP, younger players like Peyton Watson And Christian Braun need to grow and thrive in their new roles, and Denver needs a big season from Michael Porter Jr.

Porter Jr. knows the pressure is there and feels it, it’s something he’s spoken about on the Ringer NBA podcast.

“Before my injuries, I played basketball. Now it’s a little different, sometimes it feels like a job, but I love basketball so much. I would have played the game for free as long as I could eat. I loved it. Money was never my goal. My goal was to go as far as I could, to be as good as I could.

“So man, honestly, the money makes it a little harder to enjoy the game sometimes, because with a max contract comes a lot of expectations about consistency, about you’re supposed to be an All-Star, you’re supposed to be this, that, whatever they say.”

Anyone who has made a hobby or passion their career will tell you that it changes things, that the pressure and expectations change the atmosphere. That said, no one feels any sympathy for Porter Jr. on that score.

Porter Jr. is a quality player, averaging 16.7 points and 7 rebounds per game last season, shooting 39.7 percent from three-point range and playing variable (if exceptional) defense. The Nuggets’ offense is at its best when he’s making three-pointers, especially in transition. He’ll also make $39.5 million this season and has three years, or $115 million, left on his contract.

In the two-tiered CBA world we currently live in, a player who takes up 25% of the salary cap (like Porter Jr.) has to play at an All-Star level or better. Teams can’t easily carry three max players and the Nuggets have three with Jokic, Jamal Murry (who has not yet finalized his extension but should obtain one) and Porter Jr. Combine those three contracts with the owners’ desire to stay away from the second deck, and things look like this Kentavious Caldwell-Pape be allowed to leave as a free agent.

Porter Jr. sort of falls into the same space Zach LaVine And Brandon Ingram The Nuggets have found exceptional players who bring important skills, but who aren’t seen by management as worthy of the contracts they signed (or, with Ingram, want to sign next). That’s where the real pressure comes in, the Nuggets need Porter Jr. to be worthy of that contract if they want to get Jokic another ring. He’s going to have to be part of what fills the void left by KCP. How he handles that pressure and whether he can live up to that standard will speak volumes about the upcoming season in Denver.

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