The Brooklyn Nets may already be staring at a Michael Porter Jr. decision, but the Golden State Warriors don’t appear to be moving toward the same conclusion.
Porter is entering the season on a $40.8 million expiring contract, and according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post, he looks far more like a trade candidate than a long-term piece for Brooklyn. There has been no extension between Porter and the Nets so far, which only adds to the sense that his name could surface again as the deadline gets closer.
Lewis said on the Third Apron podcast, “I think his future with the Nets, or his Nets tenure, might be coming to a close shortly. That’s kind of my read on it,” Slater said. “I just think that they’re apart in contract negotiations, and I don’t see them holding him past the trade deadline without an extension," Lewis said on the Third Apron podcast.
That would hardly be a shock after the kind of season Porter just put together. In his first year with the Nets, he averaged 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 46.3% from the field and 36.3% from 3-point range. Even so, there’s still a real question about how much of that production came in the context of a bad Nets team, and how much actual value he’d bring to a contender like Golden State if the price gets steep.
That’s where Steve Kerr comes in. The Warriors coach is back on a new two-year deal, and the expectation from Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor in July was that Kerr pushed against a Porter trade. That makes Porter look like an unlikely target for Golden State even if Brooklyn eventually makes him available.
Kerr’s stance is notable because Porter does have some obvious offensive appeal. He can be a smooth shooting threat who heats up in a hurry, the kind of scorer who could, in theory, fill a role similar to what Klay Thompson once provided. But there’s a clear difference: Thompson was also one of the league’s best perimeter defenders in his prime, and Porter does not offer that.
The bigger issue may be how Kerr views Porter’s breakout numbers. It’s fair to wonder whether the added playmaking and shot creation last season were more a byproduct of his situation in Brooklyn than a sign of a cleaner fit elsewhere. Golden State may also see him through the lens of the player he was with Denver, where he was sometimes viewed as a ball-stopper rather than a seamless piece.
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Golden State used its new selections on Joe Barry Carroll and Rickey Brown, while the Celtics found their own answer with a player who would become one of the defining names of that era. Parish and that Celtics draft choice went on to anchor Boston for years, and the Warriors spent the next six seasons outside the playoffs. Even decades later, the trade remains one of those reminders that a draft-day swing can change the course of two franchises in opposite directions. [Read more 🡒]