A few days ago, when Michael Porter Jr. first arrived in Brooklyn, he took what sounded like a shot at the Nuggets in his Curious Mike vlog. On the video, upon entering the Nets’ practice facility, Porter said, “I’m just glad y'all got two courts…cuz over there we had the one court”.
Of course, Mike was referencing the Nugget’s shoddy practice facility, which is outdated and lacking in amenities, including only a single basketball court. It’s a pretty bad look for Denver that a player who hasn’t been on any other team is seemingly blown away by something so simple as multiple courts to practice on.
The funny part is, upon reviewing the entirety of the vlog, the context around Mike’s quotes, and everything we already know about him as a person, it really doesn’t seem like he’s trying to take shots at the Nuggets. Obviously, it’s going to come off that way, and at best, it’s a pretty brutal stray.
But this is who MPJ is, hence his many hilarious and interesting conversations in the Curious Mike series. For better or worse, I believe Porter speaks his mind and says whatever comes to him in the moment. He was expressing his genuine excitement and awe in the moment, without even a second thought about what he was implying about his former team.
MPJ is not wrong, and ownership must pony up
I highly doubt this would be the breaking point when attempting to sign free agents or anything like that, but it’s not nothing. It’s a pretty blatant example of ownership cutting corners and finding creative ways to save money that may not show up on the payroll, but impact the bottom line in a big way.
There’s no excuse for the Kroenkes not to open up the checkbook and upgrade these facilities, bringing the Nugget into the modern age. It would be a nice selling point to go on top of a stacked roster, a recent championship, and a (so far) competent front office and coaching staff.
Josh Kroenke has talked the talk ever since firing Michael Malone and Calvin Booth. He took accountability for the issues that have plagued the team for the past couple of years. But now, he has a chance to put his money where his mouth is.
So far, the offseason has been great, and it feels like things are trending in the right direction. This would be an incredible time to make this gesture and show the fanbase and those around the league that you mean business and you are fully trying to maximize the franchise and give them every possible advantage.