Michael Porter Jr. trade has been complicated by welcomed sight

As the Nuggets’ season has gone on, it has become clear that the roster needs an upgrade. The team around Nikola Jokic just isn’t good enough to vault them to true contender status without making some kind of move.

They don’t play nearly good enough defense, they lack depth, they have no backup big men, they don’t shoot enough threes, and their second highest-paid player has been playing like a glorified role player for most of the season (Jamal Murray). 

These issues and more have convinced the fan base and the front office that a change is needed. They can’t afford to waste a second of Jokic’s prime but right now, that appears to be exactly what’s happening.

Unfortunately, as we’ve gone over ad nauseam, the Nuggets’ path to improving the team via trade is an incredibly difficult one to navigate. Murray and Aaron Gordon can’t be dealt due to their recent extensions and they have no draft picks left until 2031.

The more glaring the need for a trade has become, the more the reality sets in that the only possible way for the Nuggets to add a meaningful player is by trading Michael Porter Jr. MPJ has value as a 26-year-old 6’10” sharpshooter, and his $35.9 million contract could be used as matching salary to bring in a star player.

Porter Jr. playing too well for the Nuggets to trade him

But things have become clouded by MPJ’s stellar play this season. He has played in every game and has been the team’s second-best player. He’s averaging 19.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season while shooting 61% on two-point shots and 43% on 6.3 three-point attempts per game.

He’s leading the league, shooting 45% on tightly contested threes this season, and has been impacting the game with his cutting, drives, spot-ups, pick-and-rolls, and clutch rating. At the same time, he has vastly improved his defense and is among the league leaders in iso defense and spot-up defense.

Add all this up and it’s starting to seem like MPJ may be more valuable to the Nuggets than anything they could trade him for. We’ve heard about players like Zach LaVine and Jimmy Butler, or pupu platters like DeAndre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic. But none of the return packages are perfect.

At the end of the day, given MPJ’s breakout, it’s hard to imagine the team moving him and getting better. He has become way too important on both ends of the court and has become shockingly durable. His synergy with Jokic, Murray, and Gordon is also incredible and he is very comfortable and content with his role on the team.

Sure, there are some risky possibilities that could give the Nuggets a higher ceiling if everything goes right. But the more the season plays out and the more Porter Jr. impresses, the more complicated and unlikely a trade becomes. The best option may be keeping MPJ after all.