In an organization like the Denver Nuggets, high named free agents are hard to come by.
A team like the Nuggets have to find stars within the yearly rotation of the NBA Draft similar to their 2014 second-round selection of franchise star Nikola Jokic. But when the opportunity came to select guys who in this case have an extreme amount of stock behind their name upon entering the draft, the Nuggets did not miss the chance with the 14th pick of the 2018 NBA Draft.
The selection you might ask? Michael Porter Jr., the former top prospect coming out of the 2017 high school class. Fast-forward a few years later and the Nuggets need to let their young star free to fully blossom.
Just a few short years ago, Michael Porter Jr. was dominating high school competition while playing for Nathan Hale. He gained early NBA knowledge under his head coach, former NBA player Brandon Roy. His senior season saw him average 36.2 points and 13.6 rebounds. He helped the high school earn a perfect 29–0 record and win the Washington Class 3A State Championship.
Originally committed to Washington, Porter Jr. followed his brother and father to the University of Missouri. Tragically, just minutes into his college career, his time at Missouri ended as quickly as it had started. Within two minutes of play against Utah, Michael Porter Jr. dealt with an injury that required him to have back surgery to return for only three games to close out his college career.
The injury not only caused MPJ to miss significant college time but likely cost him, at minimum, a projected top-five selection during the 2018 NBA Draft. It also was the likely reason why he slid down to pick No.14 to the Nuggets. It even cost him his original rookie year as the Nuggets immediately shut down Porter Jr. in order to let him rehab to become fully healthy moving forward.
Now, Michael Porter Jr. just needs a consistent chance to prove why Denver needs him to grow into that second star.
He has appeared in 30 games but the appearances don’t tell the full story. In the four games that he has played in 20 or more minutes, MPJ has proven his ability to score. He scored 15, 19, a lower performance of 4 and a career-high 25 points in those games. He currently sits at an average of 10.9 minutes per game.
Porter Jr’s. career-high night saw him miss one shot while adding five rebounds and five assists.
To put this in more perspective, teammate Gary Harris has started all 37 games and played over 30 minutes in all but seven games and has only had one 20 point performance this season.
The problem lies within the ability of MPJ to see more game action. Head coach Mike Malone is dealing with a roster loaded with similar players in length and production. Players such as Torrey Craig, Jerami Grant and Paul Millsap all have similar lengths and production rates.
Porter Jr., however, likely has the most upside and long-term success.
The idea of being cautionary with Porter Jr. is very ideal and realistic but the Nuggets will greatly benefit from letting MPJ fully spread his wings as his time has arrived.
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