Michael Porter Jr. is done in Denver.
In a move to create salary-cap flexibility, the Denver Nuggets struck a deal to send Porter to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday shortly after the NBA’s free-agency period began, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports. In exchange, the Nuggets will receive Cam Johnson. The Nets will also get an unprotected 2032 first-round draft pick.
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Per Charania, the Nuggets agreed to a one-year contract with Bruce Brown after the trade, reuniting the Nuggets with the defensive wing who played a key role on their 2023 championship team.
The trade signals the end of an era in Denver as the Nuggets ship off a core player from that championship team in an effort to create roster flexibility. Denver makes the move as it looks to retool its roster and salary distribution to compete with the champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the West. The move was the first of significance by the new tandem of Ben Tenzer and Jonathan Wallace, who are collectively running Denver’s front office in the wake of ousted general manager Calvin Booth.
Porter, 27, has played his entire six-season NBA career with the Nuggets since they selected him with the No. 14 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Once projected as a potential No. 1 overall pick, Porter slipped in the draft due to concerns about a back injury that sidelined him for his entire first NBA season.
Once healthy, Porter emerged as a key player for the Nuggets who moved into the starting lineup in his second season and remained there. A 6-foot-10 forward with elite shooting ability (40.6% from 3 for his career), Porter was a key player as the Nuggets made a run to their first NBA championship in 2023.
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He averaged 18.2 points, seven rebounds and 2.1 assists last season while shooting 50.4% from the floor and 39.5% on 6.4 3-pointers per game.
Why did the Nuggets do this?
Denver’s roster construction has proven flawed since that title run, and the Nuggets have had little flexibility, thanks in part to the max contracts signed by Porter and point guard Jamal Murray and the supermax deal signed by three-time MVP Nikola Jokić.
Michael Porter Jr. is headed to Brooklyn. (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
(AAron Ontiveroz via Getty Images)
When looking for a spot to retool, the Nuggets ultimately decided that Porter was expendable. Porter is approaching the fourth year of a five-year, $179 million contract. He’s due $38.3 million in 2025-26 and $40.8 million in 2026-27.
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By contrast, Johnson has two years remaining on a four-year, $94.5 million deal. He’ll earn $21 million in 2025-26 and $23 million in 2026-27. In Johnson, a 6-foot-8 forward, the Nuggets add another sharp-shooting wing (39.2% from 3 for his career) with size while shedding salary.
The move puts the Nuggets under the first salary cap apron and opens up a $14.1 million mid-level exception.
And now they have Brown, who the Nuggets have sorely missed since they allowed him to walk in free agency in 2023 in a move that was dictated by the salary cap. In Brown, the Nuggets add depth and a defensive presence off the bench that was missing from last season’s roster.
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Denver gave up one of its few tradable assets in the 2032 unprotected first-round pick to open up that salary cap flexibility.
Can Nuggets return to contention?
The need for a change in Denver was exacerbated during the Nuggets’ second-round playoff series against the Thunder. Denver repeatedly challenged the Thunder in a seven-game series that was OKC’s toughest test en route to the NBA Finals. But Denver’s lack of depth was exposed against the deep Thunder bench that made a significant difference in a series that was won in the margins.
Porter also played injured in the series as a shoulder ailment limited him throughout the postseason. And new head coach David Adelman noted Porter’s defensive lapses more than once after taking over for fired head coach Michael Malone.
Now that Porter and his salary are gone, it will be up to the newly retooled Nuggets front office to continue to rebuild Denver’s bench. The goal for the Nuggets should be to continue to compete for championships as long Jokić remains on their roster.
