Michael Porter Jr. has given Nuggets fans plenty of reasons to be glad he’s off the team this offseason, but his latest comments may be his most concerning (at least basketball-related) yet. On a recent episode of #Respectfully The Justin Lavoy Show, MPJ made a guest appearance and explained that he doesn’t know how much longer he wants to play.
He talked about the rigors it takes him to play on a nightly basis after three back surgeries and stated that he’s taking things one year at a time and he’ll reevaluate after the season. Surely, this isn’t what the Nets want to hear from the 27-year-old they just acquired and will be paying almost $80 million over the next two seasons.
But the Nets also got a valuable first-round pick in the deal, and they’re in no rush to win games. They’re happy to take a chance on Mike and see if he can take a star-leap in a new role, but if he were to retire and his money came off the books, it would hardly sink the franchise.
Early MPJ retirement would have devastated Nuggets
For the Nuggets, though? This would have been an absolute bombshell report, and could have seriously altered the trajectory of the franchise. For one thing, if he had made this announcement while still in Denver, he would have sunk his trade value. Who knows if they would have been able to pull off the Cam Johnson deal with MPJ openly discussing retirement as soon as the end of this season?
Hearing him talk about the daily struggle and what he has to go through to compete against the best athletes in the world just does not sound like the words of someone who is going to play another 5-10 successful years in the NBA.
So, not only would Denver have been stuck with MPJ and his contract, but they would not have been able to make some of their corresponding moves to upgrade their depth. They would have been stuck to Porter Jr. and his deal, only to potentially see him retire and the team lose the asset for nothing.
They would have gained significant money, but they would have lost their most significant means of upgrading the roster in any way. We’ll see how serious these alarming comments end up, and if Mike does end up retiring earlier than expected.
Either way, with this now floating around Mike, it’s blatantly clear just how much the Nuggets dodged a bullet this summer by pulling off this masterful Porter Jr. trade when they did.