The Michael Porter Jr. situation has turned into a waiting game, and the longer it stretches out, the tougher it may be for the Brooklyn Nets to land the kind of return they want.
Brooklyn and Porter have been in extension talks since July 6, but the two sides still haven’t found common ground. The 28-year-old is reportedly looking for $40 million per year on a new deal, and that price tag is helping keep the trade market tight around him.
That’s where the concern starts for the Nets. NBA insider Sean Deveney reported that Brooklyn may only be able to get one protected first-round pick for Porter, largely because any team that trades for him would also be on the hook to extend him. For front offices, that’s a tough sell.
Teams are often reluctant to give up real value for a player who might only be a short-term rental after the deadline. The league has already seen examples of that kind of hesitation with Luke Kennard and Dorian Finney-Smith for the Los Angeles Lakers in consecutive seasons.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka sent three second-round picks to Brooklyn for Finney-Smith in December 2024, only for him to leave in the offseason and sign with the Houston Rockets. Pelinka then dealt a 2032 second-round pick for Kennard at the February deadline, and Kennard signed with the Phoenix Suns this offseason.
That kind of outcome is exactly why Porter’s market could be limited. He’s a knockdown shooter, but teams have to decide whether they want to pay up for a player who may also need a new contract immediately.
Porter is coming off the best season of his career, averaging 24.2 points while shooting 36.3% from three and adding 7.1 rebounds. Under Jordi Fernández, he was given more room to operate as a shot creator, and he made the most of it with simple, effective dribble moves that helped him get to his pull-up jumper.
His favorite move was a between-the-legs dribble into a crossover, and because of his high release point, defenders often couldn’t get a clean contest on the shot.
Still, the financial side of this is where things get tricky. A deal that lands Porter near 25% of the league’s cap would be a major commitment for Brooklyn or anyone else. That’s close to max money, and Porter isn’t being viewed in the same tier as a franchise-changing star like his former teammate Nikola Jokić.
The comparison to OG Anunoby also shows the kind of contract range Brooklyn may be staring at. The New York Knicks are paying Anunoby more than $40 million over the next three seasons. Porter’s career high scoring mark is better than Anunoby’s personal best of 17.1 points, and both players are efficient, high-volume 3-point shooters, but Anunoby brings stronger wing defense.
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