A Michael Porter Jr. extension decision in Brooklyn could open a door the Bulls ought to at least peek through.
On the Locked On Nets podcast, Brian Lewis of the New York Post said the situation is simple if Porter and the Nets can’t strike a deal: “There’s either an extension or a trade,” he said. That kind of fork in the road is exactly why Chicago should be paying attention.
Porter is coming off a strong year with Brooklyn, a season good enough that he had a real shot at an All-Star nod before ultimately coming up short. He’s now headed into next season on an expiring contract, and the Nets still haven’t reached an extension agreement with the 28-year-old forward.
From Brooklyn’s side, the logic is easy to see. The team is in a full rebuild, and Porter is the sort of player who fits best as a complementary piece on a good roster rather than as a focal point on a team trying to develop younger talent. That makes him a natural trade candidate if the extension talks go nowhere.
For the Bulls, the fit is more complicated, but not off the table. Chicago no longer has cap space, and it also doesn’t have many large contracts to line up with Porter’s $40.8 million salary. Still, there’s a path.
A package built around Patrick Williams, Isaac Okoro, and one of Zach Collins or Rob Dillingham would get Chicago to Porter’s number. The Bulls would still need to sweeten the deal with enough draft capital to get Brooklyn interested, but the framework is there.
And the basketball case is at least worth thinking about. Porter’s talent next to Matas Buzelis, Caleb Wilson, Norman Powell, Josh Giddey, and Nicolas Claxton would be an intriguing look. If he played well, the Nets could also flip him later at the deadline and try to sell high.
It’s not a clean move, and it wouldn’t be easy. But if Porter really is heading toward either an extension or a trade, the Bulls have enough reason to test the waters.
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