Nets’ Michael Porter Jr. drawing trade interest from multiple teams

Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. has been having the best season of his career to the point that there is some buzz of him being an All-Star for the first time. Brooklyn has put Porter in a position to show what he can do as the primary scoring option on a team and now, he is drawing trade interest from multiple teams ahead of the February deadline.

According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, Porter could potentially land with teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, and Chicago Bulls based on what he’s hearing thus far. The Bucks being mentioned for the second time in connection to Porter is interesting given that Sam Amick of The Athletic reported recently that Porter is one of the players that Milwaukee is interested in trading for.

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«The Nets, to this point, are best characterized as listening to offers for Porter rather than actively shopping him,» Fischer wrote while explaining what Brooklyn’s thought process is regarding a potential Porter trade. «It could also be argued that it might behoove Brooklyn to wait until the offseason before any MPJ move to enable the Nets to use his contract as outgoing salary in any aggressive offseason splurge of their own.»

Porter, 27, is averaging 25.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 49.6% from the field and 41.0% from behind the three-point line in 26 games played this season. As Fischer noted, Brooklyn doesn’t have to trade Porter prior to the deadline if they believe that he can be part of the future or that they can get more for him in the offseason. Players around the league are recognizing that Porter is showing more this season than he ever did during his time with the Denver Nuggets.

«It’s different. He didn’t have as much freedom in Denver… He’s showing that he’s the player that everybody thought or knew he was coming out of college. He’s finally getting to show that,» Warriors forward Draymond Green said of Porter following Monday’s matchup between the franchises, per Erik Slater of ClutchPoints. Golden State won the game 120-107, but Porter dropped 27 points despite the Warriors focusing all of their defensive attention on him throughout the contest.

When the Nets traded forward Cam Johnson to the Nuggets this past summer in exchange for Porter and a 2032 first-round pick, there were some around the NBA that criticized Brooklyn for giving up too much for Porter, a player considered to be a negative value on his contract. However, it seems that Porter has changed minds over the first few months of the season. Per Fischer, one executive even asked «Who couldn’t use an MPJ?»

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets’ Michael Porter Jr. drawing trade interest from multiple teams