Being traded by a championship-contender doesn’t always look like it’ll benefit the player that was moved. However, in the case of Brooklyn Nets newcomer Michael Porter Jr., that’s precisely what happened. At 27 years old and now in the prime of his career, he now has a tremendous opportunity in front of him.
Nets Expect Michael Porter Jr. To Be In Scoring Title Conversation
The Nets are still in rebuild mode and are unlikely to be vying for an NBA title in the immediate future. So, unlike the Nuggets, they’re in a better position to tinker with their shot distribution. Where Denver was heavily reliant on the 1-2 punch of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, Brooklyn doesn’t actually have any volume scorers under contract, yet.
This leaves a void, if not a need, that the Nets have to address. That being said, their solution appears to be directly tied to their acquisition of Porter.
“We’re transitioning our roster, of course,” a Nets front office executive tells Spotrac’s Keith Smith. “We’re going to play a lot of young players. But we need some vets to balance that. And, of course, we need to score some points. Porter will help us a ton there.”
“I’m not saying he’ll win the scoring title, but I think it could be close.”
Klay Thompson Comparison
While he undoubtedly has his limitations, Porter is universally regarded as one of the league’s premier shooters. Since being drafted 14th overall in 2018, the 6-foot-10 forward has made 843 three-pointers with a 40.6 percent conversion rate. In fact, he ranks second all-time in Nuggets franchise history in made 3s and fifth in three-point percentage.
Even if it was the only tool that he had, Porter strengths compare favorably to a player like Dallas Mavericks wing Klay Thompson, a career 41.1 percent 3-point shooter. With that in mind, Thompson’s career-high is 22.3 points per game. Over a seven-season stretch, he averaged 21.5 points per game. Should Porter be playing alongside Nets restricted free agent Cam Thomas, those are the numbers he could be looking at.
Kevin Durant Comparison
There’s also the possibility that Brooklyn sees him as more of a Kevin Durant than Thompson.
Both Durant (who now plays for the Houston Rockets) and Porter are lankier forwards with a soft touch. Durant is more comfortable than either Porter or Thompson with regards to scoring off-the-dribble. However, Porter’s complaints about how he was utilized in Denver suggests that he wouldn’t mind altering his shot diet. Indeed, he showed an increased determination to score on drives over the past two seasons; for the first time in his career, he recorded more than 200 drives in a single season.
With that being said, Durant recorded 649 drives in 2024-25, a far higher number than Porter. However, it’s worth noting that many of Durant’s drive attempts see him taking three dribbles and getting to a spot on the floor he’s comfortable shooting. Due to his length and precision, he’s often able to shoot over the top of defenders.
‘24-25 KD 1v1 three dribble max pic.twitter.com/4vCjet5dgP
— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) March 23, 2025
There’s certainly reason to believe Porter could emulate Durant in that regard. Indeed, in some ways, he already does. With his scoring opportunities scaled up, it’s conceivable that he could average around 25 points per game.
To that point, Durant has a career average of 27.2 points per game. Since his Achilles injury, he’s averaged 27.9 points per game.
The Last Word On MPJ
If expectations are tempered, Porter should look exactly like the anonymous Nets executive says. He won’t necessarily be vying for the scoring title. Nevertheless, he could make it a conversation.
© Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images
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