NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. was surprised this summer when he was dealt by the Denver Nuggets to the Nets in exchange for forward Cam Johnson. Porter saw the opportunity as a chance for him to expand his game and show more of what he can do on the court and he took the time to explains some of the adjustments he’s making.
“On the court, first of all, I think um, obviously it’s going to be an adjustment. It’s going to be a lot of fluid conversations between me and the coaches just about the role they expect,” Porter said during Media Day on Tuesday. Porter will be joining a Brooklyn led by players like guard Cam Thomas and center Nic Claxton, but Porter is expected to be one of the on-court leaders as well.
“I think Jordi does a great job not leaving anything up to players to guess,” Porter continued while discussing how head coach Jordi Fernandez plays into the adjustments for him. “He really tells you what he expects and we’ve already had some conversations and obviously, my role is going to be different… Over here, it’s going to be completely different and I got to be ready for that.”
Porter, 27, will be entering his eighth year in the NBA and as he said, he will have to adjust to no longer sharing the floor with superstar center Nikola Jokic and guard Jamal Murray as he did with the Nuggets. Porter won a championship with Denver during the 2022-23 season, but now, he has the chance to impart his championship experience onto one of the youngest teams in the league.
Porter is coming off a 2024-25 season in which he averaged 18.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 50.4% from the field and 39.5% from three-point land. Porter will most likely play the game the way that he always has, but being in Brooklyn presents a different set of challenges for him that he sounds like he is aware of and is ready to face.