Following the 2020-21 season, the Denver Nuggets had high hopes for Michael Porter Jr. In his first full season as a starter, Porter averaged 19.0 points and 7.3 rebounds on 54.2 percent shooting and 44.5 percent from three-point range on 6.3 attempts per game. Porter earned a 10-month contract. maximum five-year contract extension with the Nuggets when he looked like the third star the team needed to get over the hump.
Since then, however, some difficulties have arisen. Slow down wear and his rise. In 2021, just nine games into the season, Porter injured his back and missed the rest of the season. After that unfortunate injury, he has yet to return to the heights he reached during his stellar 2020-21 campaign.
The Nuggets had to make some tough decisions to get around Michael Porter Jr.’s massive contract. They had to let Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope go. But for Porter, bear the weight of expectations which comes with its high price tag has also worn it out.
“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,” Porter said during an appearance on the Off Guard with Austin Rivers podcast, via HoopsHype.
This is the reality of the NBA. A player’s salary should be proportional to his impact on his respective teams. Was Michael Porter Jr.’s play a disappointment compared to his contract? Not really; after all, the Nuggets won a championship because he played a crucial supporting role.
But some fans feel Porter hasn’t reached the potential he displayed in his first full year as a starter for the Nuggets. settled in like a third banana a guy who can catch and shoot and create shots off the dribble instead of being a star scorer on the wing.
But make no mistake: The Nuggets forward loves the game with all his being, even if the outside noise surrounding his work can be a distraction from time to time.
“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. So money was never my goal. My goal was to go as far as I could, to be as good as I could,” Porter added.
Nuggets will need more Michael Porter Jr. next season
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In back-to-back offseasons, the Nuggets have lost crucial wing pieces like Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope via free agency. Denver heads into the 2024-25 season in dire need of the emergence of players like Christian Braun and Julian Strawther, while they’ll also need Russell Westbrook to master the recklessness and play within the system.
But Michael Porter Jr., as third highest income Nuggets coach Michael Malone is expected to take the initiative and play a larger role in the offense alongside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Head coach Michael Malone is also expected to be more proactive in utilizing Porter’s skills as the team’s best player.
