LeBron James chose the Philadelphia 76ers, leaving a handful of contenders with unfinished shopping lists and fewer stars left to chase. One of the next calls could reach Brooklyn.
Michael Porter Jr. isn’t LeBron. He doesn’t direct an entire offense through his passing or command James’ influence across the league. Still, few potentially available players offer Porter’s combination of 6-10 size, high-volume shooting, championship experience and immediate scoring.
Porter’s value could rise at the precise moment the Nets must decide whether to keep him. He’s spent months saying he wants to stay. At Fanatics Fest last week, he reflected on a first season in Brooklyn that felt like starting over. Denver had surrounded him with established stars and veterans. The Nets made him one of the oldest players on the NBA’s youngest roster, gave him the largest offensive role of his career and asked him to help lead five rookies.
“We’re building something special over there,” Porter said.
Days later, James joined a 76ers roster featuring Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and V.J. Edgecombe. Teams that pursued James now need another plan. Eastern Conference contenders may also feel pressure to add enough firepower to keep pace.
Porter gives Brooklyn a chance to benefit from both groups if interest grows beyond speculation.
He made his case last season.
Across 52 starts, Porter averaged career highs of 24.2 points and three assists while adding 7.1 rebounds per game. He shot 46.3% from the field, 36.3% from 3-point range and 85.9% at the free-throw line after spending years with the Denver Nuggets as a devastating shooter beside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
Brooklyn asked for far more. Instead of waiting for stars to create his opportunities, Porter attacked mismatches, worked through loaded defenses and became the scorer opponents designed their game plans to stop. Through his first 38 appearances, he averaged 25.6 points, fifth among qualified Eastern Conference scorers when All-Star reserves were announced Feb. 1.
Nets general manager Sean Marks acknowledged Porter’s evolution during the Nets’ season-ending availability in April.
“I don’t think anybody questioned whether he could shoot, but I think could he be a number one option?” he said. “And I think for us, he’s the number one option.”
A strained left hamstring ended Porter’s season in March, and Brooklyn shut him down April 3. His medical history will remain part of any contract or trade evaluation, though he’d missed only 14 games since the start of the 2023-24 season before suffering the hamstring injury.
Even with the early finish, Porter gave the Nets leverage they didn’t possess when they acquired him from Denver alongside an unprotected 2032 first-round pick. He proved he could carry a larger role, rebuilt his value and entered the summer eligible for an extension.
Now comes the price.
Porter is owed $40.8 million in 2026-27, the final season of his contract, before he can enter unrestricted free agency. Moving the salary would require work from any contender operating under the NBA’s apron restrictions, but the expiring deal also limits the acquiring team’s long-term risk.
Mark Bartelstein, Porter’s agent, recently confirmed discussions with Brooklyn.
“Michael loves it in Brooklyn. Jordi [Fernández] has been great for him,” Bartelstein said on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “I think it’s a great fit.”
Both sides, Bartelstein added, must determine how they want to move forward.
“If we can make it work where there’s a long-term fit, that would be awesome,” he said. “But that’s what we’re going to be talking about in the days ahead.”
Chris Haynes has reported what may follow if those conversations stall.
“If it becomes apparent early on that an extension is not in play, then I do believe the next step will be the Brooklyn Nets and Michael Porter Jr. potentially parting ways,” Haynes said.
James’ move gives Marks another reason to examine the market, but it doesn’t force the Nets to rush into a deal. Their current roster still needs what Porter provides.
A projected starting group of Porter, Mikel Brown Jr., Egor Dëmin, Julius Randle and Day’Ron Sharpe places two young guards beside a veteran frontcourt. Brown is a rookie. Dëmin is entering his second season. Sharpe does most of his damage around the rim, while Randle creates from the elbows, attacks inside and pulls help defenders toward the paint.
Porter stretches defenders in the opposite direction. His shooting gives Brown and Dëmin more room to develop with the ball. Driving lanes widen for Randle. Sharpe gains space around the basket. Brooklyn has other forwards, but none matches Porter’s blend of height, movement shooting and difficult-shot conversion.
Randle’s arrival should ease some of last season’s burden, too.
The Nets no longer need Porter to manufacture every difficult attempt late in the shot clock. Randle can absorb part of the creation load, while Brown and Dëmin grow into larger responsibilities. Porter can remain a featured scorer without abandoning the off-ball movement and quick release he used during Denver’s championship run.
And beyond his offense, the roster needs his experience. Porter spent last season learning how to guide players still adjusting to NBA life. Marks said after the draft that Brooklyn wanted established professionals who could teach its young players the habits behind a long career.
That responsibility once belonged to older teammates in Denver. With the Nets, it belongs partly to Porter. During his April exit interview, he said he wanted an extension and hoped to make Brooklyn his long-term home.
“I would love to spend many, many years in Brooklyn and make this my home and build and watch this franchise take off,” Porter said then.
Porter, 28, produced career statistics for a 20-win team. A new agreement would carry him into his early 30s. His back surgeries and recent hamstring injury remain part of his profile, and his best role on a contender may still place him behind one or two primary creators.
An oversized extension could weaken the flexibility Marks spent two years preserving. The right deal could secure Brooklyn’s best shooter, support its young guards and prevent a valuable player from reaching free agency without compensation.
Letting Porter walk would be difficult to defend unless the Nets have a specific plan for the resulting cap space. Brooklyn acquired him in an asset-building trade, expanded his responsibilities and helped him produce the best season of his career.
A trade may become the better choice. It shouldn’t become the easier one.
The Golden State Warriors offer a warning against assuming every team connected to James will pursue Porter. Kevin O’Connor reported Steve Kerr opposed acquiring him before the trade deadline and gave little reason to believe Kerr’s position has changed.
That report doesn’t diminish Porter’s value. It shows why Brooklyn must separate possible suitors from actual bidders.
The Nets can extend Porter, carry his expiring contract into the season or move him before the deadline. None of those routes requires desperation. He hasn’t requested a trade. Bartelstein has praised the fit. Porter’s shooting remains essential to the roster Brooklyn assembled.
Another team’s urgency should raise the asking price.
Expendable veterans and a heavily protected pick shouldn’t be enough. A worthwhile return would require an attractive first-round selection, a young player under team control, useful salary structure or some combination of those assets.
Anything less leaves the Nets better off keeping him.
Porter wants to help build what comes next in Brooklyn. After James chose Philadelphia, the Nets can find out how badly another team wants to pull him away.