Michael Porter Jr. has been an important piece for the Nuggets ever since he was drafted with the No. 14 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Porter's 41.0 percent shooting from 3 has provided tremendous spacing for Nikola Jokic and company, and he was instrumental in their first-round win over the Lakers this year. But he's also had his fair share of struggles — he had a poor Finals showing last year and completely disappeared in the team's second-round elimination to the Timberwolves in 2024.
The Nuggets don't have a lot of avenues to improve their team this summer. If they want to try and shake things up, then seeing what they can get for MPJ makes the most sense. His $35.9 million salary next season is the most logical slot to use for upgrades. And entering his age 26 season, he still is attractive to other teams who believe that he can rebound from his poor playoff showing.
If the Nuggets do move Porter, it will be with the hope that they can add depth to their rotation. They have just the No. 28 pick in this draft and their 2031 first-round pick available in trades, so any potential deal will have to hinge mostly on his inherent value. Here are some potential trades.
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Michael Porter Jr. trade destinations and landing spots
76ers
The 76ers can completely remake their team around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey this summer. Those two are going to have the ball a lot, so they need an off-ball gunner who can bomb away from 3. That makes MPJ an ideal fit for this team. He would give them great size and scoring, while his defensive issues could be cleaned up by Embiid.
The Sixers are a great trade partner for the Nuggets for two reasons. First, they have up to $60 million in cap space, allowing them to make trades where matching salaries is not necessary. Second, they have a ton of useful rotation players as free agents, which they can use in outgoing sign-and-trades. Tobias Harris, Buddy Hield, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, De'Anthony Melton, Kyle Lowry, Kelly Oubre, Cam Payne, Mo Bamba and KJ Martin could all fit that type of construct.
The Nuggets could take two or three of those players that the Sixers don't have long-term plans for anyway and add them onto their roster. That would give them much-needed depth which could reduce the workload on Jokic.
Here's what a trade could look like:
Hield and Melton are both quality veterans who could add shooting around Jokic. Hield has been one of the most high-volume shooters in the league but never really found a fit in Philadelphia. Melton would be a terrific Bruce Brown Jr. type of role player in Denver given his high feel and two-way play.
Both could be signed and traded for contracts in the vicinity of $15-20 million annually.
Magic
The Magic have a good, young team ready to take the next leap in their development. What they are lacking is a scoring weapon. Way too much is being put on the shoulders of Paolo Banchero, and he doesn't have the shooting around him that he will need to fulfill his potential.
MPJ could give them an easy 20 per night in their system. His defensive shortcomings would be hidden on a Magic team boasting two All-Defensive caliber players in Jalen Suggs and Jonathan Isaac.
A Porter-for-Wendell Carter Jr. and Joe Ingles trade would be a nice win for the Nuggets.
The Magic have a ton of size up and down their lineup. Carter is a rock-solid starting big man in the league who is expendable because of Orlando's depth at his position. He does a little bit of everything well and could help the Nuggets survive their minutes when Jokic is off the floor. Ingles is a reliable veteran who hit 43.5 percent of his 3s this season. His high feel and passing would fit well in Denver.
This would also save the Nuggets a substantial amount of money, getting them out of the dreaded second apron and giving them added flexibility for future moves down the line.
Cavaliers
The Cavs have a lot of talent on their roster, but the pieces don't fit well. They need to break up the combination of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen because both bring similar strengths and weaknesses as defensive non-shooting big men.
Here's a trade that would fix many of their issues:
Mobley looked like he could take a step forward as the lead big man in Cleveland while Allen missed the second round of the playoffs with a rib injury. This trade would allow them to keep the former while getting good value for the latter.
Porter and Mobley could play very well off each other, with one providing offense while the other brought elite defense. Mobley has looked a little small to play full-time center, so having a big forward like Porter next to him could alleviate that issue. The Nuggets could also throw in their No. 28 pick in the draft after they use it to balance this trade out both from a talent and salary perspective.
For the Nuggets, getting a one-time All-Star in Allen would help bolster their rim protection and give them another athletic lob threat to put alongside Aaron Gordon and Jokic. Allen would be the most overqualified backup in the league, or allow the Nuggets to play a huge lineup and bully opponents. LeVert would give them some much-needed shot creation, which they were missing against Minnesota.
This trade would balance out both rosters and make each one better.
