Carmelo Anthony fires back at Michael Porter Jr.’s “rushed” joke.

Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. accepts a new role after his trade from the Denver Nuggets. The 6-foot-10 forward enters the 2025-26 campaign as the leading offensive tackle for the first time in his career. After years in the shadow of Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray, former recruit no. relishes the opportunity be more than a role player.

“In the NBA, if you want to last, you have to be able to put your ego aside and take on a role, which is a big problem for guys. So I was able to do that, knowing that we have the best player in the world in Nikola, knowing how lethal Jamal and Nikola’s two-man game is,” Porter Jr. said. at 7 pm in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony. “But that confidence and feeling that I can make any shot on the field, it never left. To go from that to this role (in Brooklyn), I feel at home in my head. I don’t have to put that (mind) back in. … I don’t think that mindset will ever leave me, and that’s part of the reason it was so depressing, in those moments, because it was so depressing (at Denim). If I wasn’t right I wasn’t the best, that never left me.

“Just being a player in the NBA, it’s always eaten me alive. Knowing that I’m looking at this guy and he’s not better than me, but I’m not always able to show it because of the things I’ve been through, the role I play or the injuries. To be in this role now, where I can move around a little bit. I could argue that I shot earlier. You’ll see a few more assists because I’ll have a pill in my hand more, when I got the ball, it was time to get it up.

Porter Jr. won’t be short of opportunities to expand his offensive game with the Nets.

Carmelo Anthony challenges Michael Porter Jr. when discussing his new role with the Nets

He and Cam Thomas are the only proven shot creators on the team. Brooklyn has three rookie point guards in Egor Demin, Ben Saraf and Nolan Traore.

While Porter Jr. is excited about his new role in Brooklyn, Anthony challenged him to maintain the efficiency he showed in Denver.

“We want to see that. As a real real hooper and someone who loves real hoopers, I want to see you play the ball. I want to see you get to your bag and do what you do,” Anthony said. “I also want to see you do it in an effective and efficient way. Because you go from being that (high) efficient, like you did in Denver, now you have the ball in your hands. Now I want to see you be that efficient guy, be efficient. Win, lose or tie, you still have to challenge yourself to do that. Because you don’t want the narrative to be, this f*cking MPJ.”

Last season in Denver, Porter Jr. averaged 18.2 points, 2.1 assists and 1.4 turnovers while shooting 17.9 percent in 33.7 minutes per game. He shot 50.4 percent on 13.6 field goal attempts per game and 39.5 percent on 6.4 three-point attempts per game.

Through four games with Brooklyn, Porter Jr.’s efficiency has remained high amid a career-high workload. The 28-year-old averaged 19.0 points, 3.5 assists and 1.3 turnovers while shooting 23.7 percent in 31.8 minutes per game. He shot 47.7 percent on 16.3 field goal attempts per game and 40.0 percent on 7.5 three-point attempts per game.

Porter Jr. ranks sixth in the NBA in effective field goal percentage (56.9) among 18 players who have attempted more than 13 field goals and seven 3-pointers per game. Only Luka Doncic, Donovan Mitchell, Stephen Curry, Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen rank higher.

While the forward’s offensive efficiency was impressive, his defense left a lot to be desired. Porter Jr. posted a +12.1 defensive rating, the fourth-lowest among all forwards who played over 100 minutes, per CleaningTheGlass. The Nets allowed 522 points (130.5 per game) through four games, the most in franchise history.

Porter Jr. has one year left on his $40.8 million contract after this season. It remains to be seen if he will be part of the next iteration in Brooklyn or if he will be included in a trade for another property.