Michael Porter Jr. thinks he knows where the Nuggets’ slide began, and he points straight to the summer after Denver won it all.
On the latest episode of his Curious Mike show, the Brooklyn Nets forward said the turning point came when the Nuggets let Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk in free agency in 2024 and moved Christian Braun into the starting five. Porter didn’t hide how much respect he has for Braun, but he argued the lineup change altered the team’s identity in a way that mattered.
“The thing is, we won the championship, then they let [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope] go,” Porter said. “They let KCP go… So Christian Braun is a really, really, really good player.
When we won the chip, he was coming off the bench. He was a really big part of that championship team.
But he moves to the starting two spot.”
Porter said Caldwell-Pope’s value went beyond defense. In his view, Denver had a clean, simple fit with KCP on the floor because he was there to space the court and fire away off the catch. Braun, Porter said, brings a different kind of game.
“[Caldwell Pope] is the three-point threat,” Porter said. “Not trying to drive, not trying to do anything but catch it and shoot. So when they put CB in that spot, it was a little different dynamic ’cause CB’s a really good cutter, transition, but he’s not really trying to spot up and shoot.
“So now you really only have me on the wing that’s really catching and shooting,” Porter stated. “… So, I don’t know why they let [him go].
That was the beginning of our downfall. And I’m about to do Pope’s podcast in a week or two, but that was the beginning of the downfall.
But we still went Game 7 with Minnesota after Tim Connelly kind of built Minnesota to try to beat us with the two bigs.”
Porter then walked through how the Nuggets’ playoff exits unfolded after that, including the matchup with Minnesota and the later loss to Oklahoma City. He said the Timberwolves built their roster to attack Denver’s frontcourt setup, using Karl-Anthony Towns on Nikola Jokic and letting Rudy Gobert roam. He also pointed to the injury he dealt with in the series against OKC.
“‘Cause then you put [Karl-Anthony Towns] on [Nikola Jokic] and you let Rudy [Gobert] kind of roam,” Porter continued. “So, they kind of built that team to try to beat us, and they got us in Game 7.
So then they let us run it back another year, and that’s when we lost to OKC in Game 7. That’s when I got hurt.
I was wearing the pad on my shoulder. My shoulder was like dislocated and stuff, and we lost to OKC Game 7.
“I had a terrible playoffs ’cause I had an AC joint grade two injury,” Porter added. “It was like a three- or four-month injury, but I’m trying to play through it.
I’m popping it with the numbing stuff with a needle every game. I’m trying to play through it.
Can’t lift my arm. But we lose, and I play the worst.
So, I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m the one that’s probably going to get shipped out.’ And then they shipped me out.”
Porter was moved to Brooklyn in the 2025 offseason, when Denver traded him and a 2032 first-round pick to the Nets for Cam Johnson. At the time, the Nuggets were applauded for the deal because it cut salary and helped them add role players, but Porter said the move never should have happened. He also said he believes Denver would have won the championship if he had stayed.
The 28-year-old is enjoying his new situation with the Nets, but Denver’s recent track record has been ugly. The Nuggets have now moved on from Bruce Brown Jr. in 2023, Caldwell-Pope in 2024, Porter in 2025, and Peyton Watson in 2026, after sending Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a sign-and-trade when the two sides couldn’t agree on a long-term deal.
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