“He’s going to give you more than what Michael Porter Jr. gave you” – Pierce suggests that the Nuggets should trade for DeRozan originally appeared on Basketball Network.
After a failed 2024-25 season, Boston Celtics Hall of Famer Paul Pierce says that the Denver Nuggets cannot continue to waste Nikola Jokic’s prime years.
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Jokic had the best statistical season of his NBA career in 2024-25, but many agree that the Nuggets did not surround him with the right amount of talent to contend for an NBA championship. Since this season is done with, Pierce says Denver has to make sure that it gives Nikola the right supporting cast he needs to win them another NBA title.
“For the next five years, if you got the best player, you got to put some pieces,” said the 2008 NBA Finals MVP. “I feel like if they had a DeMar DeRozan with that team right now, with ‘Joker,’ he don’t need to be the best player or the second-best player every night. He is going to give you more than what Michael Porter Jr. gave you.”
MPJ wasn’t just struggling, but he was very inconsistent
Porter Jr. was one of the key pieces of the Nuggets’ 2023 title team. However, after a strong 2022-23 campaign, which saw him emerge as the third option on the Nuggets after Jokic and Jamal Murray, Michael has plateaued in the last two seasons and has not taken the next step towards superstardom.
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But MPJ didn’t just show little to no improvement in the two regular seasons after winning the NBA championship. He literally disappeared for the Nuggets in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, averaging just 9.1 points and 5.5 rebounds in 14 postseason appearances.
To Porter’s credit, he had been dealing with a shoulder sprain since the Nuggets’ first game of the 2025 Playoffs, so that probably explains his poor shooting percentage in the current postseason. However, more than Michael’s struggles, it was his inconsistency that really hurt Denver in the playoffs.
A shake-up is expected after McNair’s firing
Meanwhile, DeRozan is coming off an impressive first season for the Sacramento Kings. The 35-year-old ‘mid-range maestro’ averaged 22.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game in 77 games played for the Kings this season. However, “Deebo” was unable to lead the Kings to the postseason, even after they added Zach LaVine.
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Sacramento made a significant front office change when they fired GM Monte McNair and hired Scott Perry after the Kings’ last two seasons ended in the play-in tournament. With Perry expected to shake things up to get his team back in the postseason, he may find the 26-year-old Porter Jr. a better fit with his young core, with a frontcourt of Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, and MPJ an interesting prospect.
On the other hand, DeRozan’s consistency would be a welcome addition for the Nuggets, who many times during the regular season and multiple times in the playoffs watched Jokic single-handedly carry the scoring burden for them. With DeMar’s uncanny ability to score, Nikola will have a reliable option to help him put up points on the scoreboard, enabling him to do the other things that make him special.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on May 28, 2025, where it first appeared.