The Denver Nuggets entered this season optimistic. It has taken less than 20 games to eliminate that cheery outlook as an already injury-riddled season has gone from bad to worse with the news of Michael Porter Jr.‘s back.
After missing a layup against the Houston Rockets, it was revealed that MPJ had tweaked his back and was out for the “foreseeable future”.
It was already concerning when considering his injury history but Denver Nuggets’ worst nightmares were confirmed on Monday as the scoring wing could be out for the entire season per Mike Singer, The Denver Post.
Porter Jr. is currently getting a second opinion on his back (maybe he can get a second opinion on his vaccine hesitancy as well) but if it does require surgery, he will definitely be out for the rest of the 2021-22 season.
Since MPJ went down with the injury, the Denver Nuggets have had to deal with a myriad of other injuries including Nikola Jokic, Bones Hyland, Monte Morris, P.J. Dozier, and, of course, Jamal Murray.
The rest of the roster has had to step up and while Jokic is still having an MVP-worthy season (on both ends of the court) but it’s near impossible to win games without any legitimate scoring help.
Last season’s Aaron Gordon trade was one of the best moves across the association because it brought an underqualified scoring option into a team that would maximize his strengths. He isn’t supposed to be one of the go-to scoring options on a team, but here he is.
Signing Jeff Green to a two-year deal this past offseason gave Denver some rare defensive versatility and a seasoned veteran as the young team makes a push towards the Larry O’Brien trophy. Against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, he took 16 shots, hardly a low-usage defensive role player.
Will Barton has gone from luxury wing scorer who can play with or without the starters to necessity. Unfortunately, being pushed to the front of scoring line means he’s also pushed to the front of defense’s minds and he has struggled to make an elite impact with the stars out.
If Michael Porter Jr. is out for the rest of the season, someone’s going to have to pick up the slack and it’s not easy to find an efficient 19 points per game lying around in the NBA. So where can Michael Malone look to replace MPJ’s value?
Denver Nuggets: Replacing Michael Porter Jr.’s production internally
After getting off to a slow start, the Denver Nuggets have had to find ways to replace MPJ’s production long before that missed layup against the Rockets.
The Nuggets were doing fine; AG was scoring better than usual, Barton is having a career year in terms of scoring, and Bones was coming into his own. But is it enough?
Right now, no, it’s not enough. Denver is only 9-9 on the season and doesn’t look threatening.
With an MVP on the roster, Denver should not only be making the playoffs, but they should be making some serious noise, just like the 2020-21 season. Without Jamal, they’re not winning a title but Jokic can drag them into respectability.
Without Jamal or MPJ, it gets a lot more difficult and this team is all of a sudden looking at the play in conversation.
If Denver is to make a dent in the Western Conference, they need another player to step up and rise to an elite level.
The most qualified candidate to make that leap is Will Barton.
Before Wednesday’s game, Barton is averaging 16.6 points a game while shooting 40 percent from behind the arc, and 46 percent from the field. All of those numbers are career highs and the 31-year-old is embracing his new role as starting wing while finally fully healthy.
There’s a world in which he and Jokic grow into a rather lethal tandem. Will we see it?
Denver Nuggets: Replacing Michael Porter Jr.’s production in mid-season free agency
This is getting grim and fast. If a player is still a free agent midseason, it’s likely because they’re not good enough for the NBA (barring a couple of exceptions).
Is there a free agent out there that’s ready to come in and pick up some of the wing scoring slack for Michael Porter Jr.? Possibly. If Porter is out for the season, the Nuggets will be able to sign a player off the free agent market but they’d play more of a supporting role on offense.
Some of the best names out there are Wesley Matthews, Damyean Dotson, Yogi Ferrell, Skylar Mays, and Jeff Teague to name a few. None of those players will replace MPJ but adding some shooting and guard/wing depth, could give just enough to Michael Malone’s squad for the other options to flourish.
Regardless of what path the Nuggets go down, they’re almost definitely going to be signing a player midway through the season as the injuries pile up, it’s unsustainable to play such a short rotation with little scoring punch.
Denver Nuggets: Replacing Michael Porter Jr.’s production with a trade
This is the least likely of the options for the Denver Nuggets as this season isn’t what the team is focusing on. The Nuggets trading away tangible assets to be competitive this season is an exercise in futility.
If there is a trade out there that can help Denver right now, it’d have to be something that helps them next season as well, the season where everyone’s at full strength.
Earlier this season, I wrote about the viability of a Coby White trade, looking at how he could help Denver’s early-season bench issues but also fit in nicely with the team when Jamal is back in the lineup.
White hadn’t played thus far and Michael Scotto, The HoopsHype Podcast reported that he may be available this trade deadline. Whether that’s true or not now that he’s back in the Chicago Bulls lineup is a different question, but I’m struggling to think of any other trades like this one.
Coby is under contract for this season and the next, meaning Denver would get a cheap, rookie-scale deal on their books to help this season’s issues while also taking a look at how he’d fit in as a backup guard next season.
But after finding an ideal player for Denver to trade for, you have to ask if the other team would bother. A possible deal for White would be a swap for Zeke Nnaji and Facundo Campazzo and I struggle to imagine the Bulls doing that.
A trade is the least-likely way to replace Michael Porter Jr.’s production. It might suck to think about it this way, but this season’s a write-off. Denver is ready to compete in the 2022-23 season, this season is all about recovery.
Unfortunately, it was supposed to be all about Jamal Murray’s recovery, he now has to share that spotlight with several others.