Michael Porter Jr. is one of the biggest extension questions hanging over the Nets, and the numbers around a possible deal are already starting to take shape.
Brooklyn forward Michael Porter Jr. is headed toward a 2026-27 NBA season in which he’ll be on the floor with Julius Randle, but before that happens, he is eligible to sign a contract extension with the franchise. One possible route for the Nets, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac, would be to use what’s left of their cap space - roughly $4.9 million - to bump Porter’s salary to $45.7 million for this season in a renegotiation-and-extension.
"Michael Porter Jr. is another player to keep tabs on for an extension. The Brooklyn Nets have used up most of their cap space, but they could give what remains (roughly $4.9 million) to Porter to up his salary to $45.7 million for this season in a renegotiation-and-extension," Keith Smith wrote on Porter for Spotrac.
Smith also noted that Porter could sign a four-year, $234 million extension, though the exact price tag is still the big question for Brooklyn.
"After this year the Nets could take Porter’s salary down by as much as 40% in the first-year of an extension. That’s not necessarily expected to be the path Brooklyn and Porter take, but it is something to be aware of," Smith continued.
That flexibility is part of what makes this situation worth watching. Brooklyn could look for a creative structure if Porter is open to one that gives both sides something they want.
Porter, 28, is coming off the strongest season of his career. He averaged 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 46.3% from the field and 36.3% from three-point range.
As Brian Lewis of the New York Post wrote earlier this week, if the Nets were going to trade Porter at some point next season, they had until Tuesday to extend or renegotiate his contract.
So far, there have been no reports of the two sides reaching an agreement. That leaves Porter and Brooklyn with time - he can still sign an extension until next offseason - while the Nets continue trying to preserve some salary-cap flexibility without losing sight of what it may take to keep him. Smith’s framework offers one possible path, but it’s clear Porter will command a significant deal if Brooklyn wants to lock him in.
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