Michael Porter Jr. is heading into the season with two things hanging over him at once: a fresh ranking among the league’s top small forwards and an unresolved contract situation with the Brooklyn Nets.
HoopsHype placed Porter 15th on its list of the top-27 small forwards entering the NBA season, even though Brooklyn is expected to struggle again. Frank Urbina wrote that Porter’s deal “only runs through next season,” adding that he’ll be pushing to show he can be a centerpiece as he chases his next payday.
“Either way, Porter Jr. has won a championship as a role player before, too; it’s just that role players don’t get paid as much as stars, so the Missouri product will surely be looking to prove the 2025-26 version of himself was not a fluke,” Urbina continued on Porter. “Porter Jr. ranked in the Top 30 league-wide in BPM in 2025-26 thanks to his ability to shoot and hit ridiculous jumpers in his massive 6-foot-10 frame, so his production was impactful, even if his Brooklyn Nets were one of the worst teams in the league.”
The 28-year-old just put together the best season of his career, averaging 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 46.3% from the field and 36.3% from three.
Porter and the Nets still have not agreed to an extension, though they do have until the end of this season to work something out for the long term. That leaves Brooklyn with a decision to make as the year goes on: keep him past the February trade deadline and risk losing him for nothing next summer, or listen if other teams start calling. With training camp set to begin at the end of this month, there’s still time for the two sides to formally extend the partnership.
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Nets 2021 Big Three Debate Just Got More Painful
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For Brooklyn, that kind of perspective only sharpens the lingering debate over what might have been. The star trio never got enough uninterrupted runway to fully answer the biggest questions around the partnership, and Tuckers comments serve as a reminder that the talent was there, even if the health never was. [Read more 🡒]
Ben Saraf Knows Exactly Whats At Stake For His Nets Role
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How The Nets Let A Franchise What-If Slip Away
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For Brooklyn, the regret is not just about passing on a future icon, but about how rare those chances are for a franchise that has not drafted a player of Bryants caliber since. Every rebuilding plan eventually comes back to nights like that one, when the difference between a solid pick and a transcendent one can echo for decades. In the Nets case, the memory still hangs over the franchise as a reminder of how close they came to changing their history in one decision. [Read more 🡒]