Check out Current Denver Nuggets player Michael Porter Jr. And his rating on NBA 2K19. View his offense and defense attributes and compare him with other players in the league. Michael Porter Jr. Says he feels 'good' and is ready to play. Porter, the 14th overall pick in the 2018 draft, has yet to play a minute for the Nuggets after dealing with a nagging back injury.
On the Fox Sports broadcast of Denver’s 121-110 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, announcer Corey Maggette shed some light on the question of whether Porter would be able to make his debut with Denver before the end of the season.
“I talked to [Nuggets assistant general manager] Calvin Booth,” Maggette shared. “They said Porter will probably sit out this entire year, and be ready for next season.”
This is not altogether surprising, as from the moment Porter was drafted it was widely presumed that Denver might take this approach in order to prioritize the longevity of a player with a superstar potential who, if healthy going forward, carries a realistic chance of raising the Nuggets’ ceiling to legitimate championship contender. Team president Josh Kroenke even confirmed outright to The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears that holding out Porter the full year would be a possibility.
After ESPN’s Chris Forsberg reported from the NBA rookie photo shoot that Porter said he hoped to return for the beginning of the season, I wrote a piece for Forbes advocating red-shirting him, as the cautious approach not only seemed wisest under Denver’s particular circumstances, but had proven to be a demonstrable success with players such as Blake Griffin, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, two of whom went on to win Rookie of the Year after debuting in their second season.
It is encouraging to see that Denver is prioritizing Porter’s long-term well-being despite having been the league’s most-injured team this season, even if it results in some members of Nuggets Nation are bursting out of their skin to see him on the court donning the rainbow skyline.
These fans might take some solace, however, in the second bit of injury news Maggette relayed from his conversation with Booth to the Clippers broadcast, when he said that “Isaiah Thomas possibly, and Will Barton will get a chance to play this season.”
DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 29: Isaiah Thomas #0 of the Denver Nuggets shoots around with his son. Thomas will reportedly return from injury and get a chance to play this season, though his son will have to wait at least a few more years. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/Getty Images)
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The “probably” may allow for a little wiggle room, but Maggette’s takeaway from his conversation with Booth clearly seemed to be that before the end of the current season, Thomas would, but Porter would not debut.
The questions arising from what will, and what should happen with the Nuggets’ rotations if and when Thomas returns from injury warrant their own (forthcoming) column. But with nearly every player on the Nuggets roster having shown some propensity for falling into slumps of various depths, for head coach Michael Malone – arguably Thomas’ biggest supporter and believer – at least having the option to deploy the guard’s game-changing firepower and veteran experience off the bench should be a welcome addition.
As a high-powered scoring threat who averaged 28.9 points per game and garnered legitimate MVP buzz just two seasons ago, as well as a vocal leader on a mostly-quiet Nuggets squad who has already made a significant impact in the locker room and on the practice court despite not having yet played a single game, Thomas brings qualities to Denver's bench he uniquely possesses, and could potentially be a major boost to the team in a hard-fought playoff series.
Denver faces a brutal schedule to close the season, and will almost certainly make the playoffs, but will do so with the league’s second-youngest roster whose players are mostly wet behind the ears when it comes to the postseason.
The Nuggets have still not released any timeline for Thomas’ return, while Will Barton, who has been out since the second game of the season, was upgraded to questionable yesterday for Denver’s next game at the Phoenix Suns, but the previously healthy Trey Lyles was also added as questionable with a right wrist sprain, and they both join Gary Harris who remains questionable as well.
It remains to be seen whether the Nuggets will ever be able to put a fully healthy roster on the court, but at least one thing seems clear for now, which is that if Maggette’s reporting of Booth’s comments proves accurate, Denver’s active list will not include Michael Porter Jr. until the 2019-20 season.
Michael Lamar Porter Jr. (born June 29, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball at the University of Missouri. Porter was ranked as one of the top prospects in the class of 2017.[1][2][3] He was selected 14th overall by the Nuggets in the 2018 NBA draft.
High school career[edit]
Porter attended Father Tolton Regional Catholic High School in Columbia, Missouri, before transferring to Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, Washington, for his senior year. His father, Michael Porter Sr., was hired by the University of Washington to be an assistant coach; former NBA star Brandon Roy was the coach of Nathan Hale's basketball team.[4][5]
In his senior season, he would average a massive 36.2 points and 13.6 rebounds as he helped the high school earn a perfect 29–0 record and win the Washington Class 3A State Championship. Porter was rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as one of the top overall recruits in his class by Rivals.com and ESPN.[3][2]
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He participated in the 2017 Nike Hoop Summit, leading Team USA to a 98–87 victory over the World Select Team with 19 points in 23 minutes of play.[6]
College career[edit]
In July 2016, Porter originally committed to Washington.[7] After Lorenzo Romar was fired as Washington's head coach, Porter Sr. was hired as an assistant coach for the University of Missouri. Porter Jr. later decommitted from Washington.[8]
On March 24, 2017, Porter committed to play for Missouri, joining his father and his younger brother, Jontay Porter (who reclassified from the class of 2018).
Porter was injured in the first half of the season opener against Iowa State. Porter was expected to miss the remainder of the 2017–18 season because of a lower back injury which required surgery.[9] On November 22, 2017, Porter had a successful microdiscectomy of his L3-L4 spinal discs.[10] However, on February 22, 2018, Porter Jr. was cleared to practice with Missouri again, with the potential to return to play before the end of the season. NBA executives were encouraging him to play if he was feeling healthy enough to do so.[11]
Porter would officially return to action on March 8, 2018 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.[12] Porter would also play in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, where the team lost to Florida State. In both games, however, Porter came off of the bench to play instead of starting like he had on opening night, mainly as a precaution. On March 27, Porter announced his intention to forgo his final three seasons of collegiate eligibility and declared for the 2018 NBA draft.[13]
Professional career[edit]Denver Nuggets (2018–present)[edit]
On June 21, 2018, Porter was selected with the 14th overall pick by the Denver Nuggets.[14] He fell from a possible first overall pick to the 14th pick with the Nuggets due to reports regarding his health.[15] The Nuggets also discussed the possibility of having him sit out for his entire first season in the NBA in relation to his back problems.[16] On July 3, 2018, Porter signed a multi-year contract with the Nuggets.[17] On July 19, 2018, the Nuggets announced that Porter had undergone a second back surgery.[18]
Career statistics[edit]
College[edit]
Personal life[edit]
Porter grew up as a vegetarian, and in 2018 changed his diet to raw vegan.[19] In addition to younger brother Jontay, he has two older sisters named Bri and Cierra.[20]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Porter_Jr.&oldid=902718682'
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