Michael Porter Jr. Admits He Wasn't Initially Feeling Trade to Nets

Michael Porter Jr. came to the Brooklyn Nets as a salary dump from the Denver Nuggets last summer, with the Nets acquiring Denver's 2032 unprotected first-round pick as part of the transaction.

Porter had spent his entire career with the Nuggets, winning a championship with them in 2023. He also got to the playoffs in each season in Denver.

Porter may have understood coming to Brooklyn meant completely different circumstances on the court, but he didn't seem to be too thrilled about life off it, as he expressed in an interview with N3ON.

“My first reaction, I was sick,” Porter said. “Because first of all, I knew Brooklyn wasn’t a good team at the time and I hated New York. New York is my least favorite city I have ever been in. I always hated New York because it’s so claustrophobic. I’m from Missouri in the middle of nowhere where you get to move around and New York’s the opposite so I hated that I was traded there. But then, I got there and know my way around, it’s lit! New York is crackin!

“They never should have traded me. Honestly, I’m living my best life in Brooklyn. Even though we didn’t do well this year, I can see the future. We’re the youngest team in the league. We got a lot of money to spend.”

Though Porter's name will likely be tossed around in trade rumors for the foreseeable future, he sounds like a guy who is fully bought into the Nets' vision, despite their imperfect circumstances.

Porter will likely never become the No. 1 scoring option on a championship team, but he proved he can handle at least a secondary role, given his knack for scoring through off-ball curling and screening actions and shooting off the catch.

The Nets have a busy offseason ahead, as their goal is seemingly to get back towards playoff contention after being several years removed from their last postseason appearance.

The Nets don't have any incentive to tank since their first round pick belongs to the Houston Rockets next season, but the organization could still choose to stay patient with their rebuild and not swing for the fences hoping to accelerate the process for short term success.

If the Nets get lucky in the draft lottery and properly develop their talent this offseason, another big fish could very well land in Brooklyn soon.