Nets Can't Afford to Give Michael Porter Jr. Expanded Role

The Brooklyn Nets acquired Michael Porter Jr. this offseason, but he shouldn’t be a priority next season.

There aren’t many doubts about where Brooklyn will be in the standings next season. Sitting at 12th in the East last season and presumably entering next season with a worse roster on paper, Brooklyn should be able to tank effectively and try to get a star through the draft.

Although the Nets didn’t have any lottery luck on their side in 2025, they still made five first-round picks in June. Headlined by No. 8 pick Egor Demin, the Nets will be spending most of next season looking to develop their youngest player.

While that seems rather straightforward, it could come with a twist. This summer, the Nets have also acquired some veteran players, who could be somewhat helpful in the development of the rookies and other young Nets. While guys like Terance Mann and Haywood Highsmith are players who can easily fit in most situations and shouldn’t take any shine away from the young players, Michael Porter Jr. could be a much different story.

Set to enter his seventh year on the floor, Porter will be away from Denver for the first time in his NBA career. With the Nuggets, Porter grew into a reliable role player around Nikola Jokic. 

Sometimes, even being the second-best player on nights when Jamal Murray or Aaron Gordon didn’t perform, Porter has shown some potential to have a larger role. Of course, in Denver, that would never happen as the Nuggets are consistently competing for championships.

However, after the draft night deal that brought Porter to Brooklyn, many thought that could be the opening Porter has been searching for. While the situation could certainly look like that, the Nets need to avoid giving Porter a larger role at all costs.

Considering the Nets are looking to develop their young guys, Porter, who is set to make nearly $80 million over the next two years, can’t serve much of a purpose beyond being a helpful mentor and knockdown shooter. Sure, Porter can be a nice insurance policy when possessions break down, but planning for him to have the ball in his hands more than he did in Denver would be a disaster waiting to happen.

While his actual passing ability isn’t all that bad, Porter is one of the league’s least-willing passers, giving him the reputation of being a “black hole” throughout his Denver tenure. Considering the Nets might already have one of those guys in Cam Thomas, allowing Porter to play Porter ball would do nothing to help Brooklyn’s offense or its young players. 

On the other hand, if Porter can get off to a hot start, it might be worthwhile to ride that wave if it means the Nets can flip him next season. Still, the Nets must be careful about handing any of the keys over to Porter because that could lead to a wild ride in Brooklyn.