Michael Porter Jr. receives ‘best in league’ praise as trade mounts

Michael Porter Jr. turning heads across the NBA his trade to the Brooklyn Nets. Dumped by the Denver Nuggets as a salary cap hit this summer, the 27-year-old is playing the best basketball of his career as the Nets’ No. 1 option.

Porter Jr. averaged 25.6 points on .497/.399/.813 shooting in 21 games with Brooklyn. His off-ball movement and elite shooting have elevated an offense that many assumed would be the worst in the NBA to a respectable level.

“Gravity is the buzzword for him because he gets so much attention. What he gives us is a stabilizer on the offensive end. Somebody to play for, somebody to calm everybody down when the other team is running,” Nets assistant Steve Hetzel said. “He’s one of the best, if not the best, off-the-ball players in this league. The way he can read guards, close switches, slide to the rim, slide out and wriggle off of Nick at the top of the key. The shot difficulty level is elite. He gives us someone to play on a timing team, so he knows what team wins through.”

Nets assistant Steve Hetzel says Michael Porter Jr. is one of the best off-ball players in the NBA:

“He’s our stabilizer offensively. … The way he’s able to read how he’s being guarded, close switches, slide to the rim, slide out and separate from Nick at the top of the key. … pic.twitter.com/Jz8K7dPhmE

— Eric Slater (@erikslater_) December 14, 2025

While Porter Jr. posted a career high in usage as the Nets’ No. 1 option, he continued to operate primarily off the ball. Jordi Fernandez designed Brooklyn’s offense around the 6-foot-10 shooting guard.

The former Nuggets forward excelled in the lead role — canceling dribble handoffs and pindowns for jumpers, cutting through the backdoor and scooping up high-low passes for layups.

How will the tanking Nets fare with Michael Porter Jr.?

Porter Jr. is one of five players averaging at least 25 points on over 49 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent from three, joining Nikola Jokic, Shai Giljos-Alexander, Anthony Edwards and Giannis Antetokounmpo. He recently became the first forward in NBA history to score 30 points with five 3-pointers in four consecutive games. Only five other players have ever accomplished the feat: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Damian Lillard, Edwards and Gary Trent Jr.

When asked about his breakup with Brooklyn, Porter Jr. recently gave high praise to Fernandes.

“I think Jordy is a genius as a coach,” he said. “He’s a genius with the schemes he sets, especially for me offensively. The way teams guard me and try not to let me catch the ball, and the different creative ways Jordy runs our team plays to help me get touches and looks, it’s really next level. He makes it easy for me to play my game, not just play the staff. I was able to produce.”

Porter Jr. is expected to draw interest on the trade market in the midst of its red-hot start. The Nets will likely evaluate offers for the veteran forward, who they acquired this summer along with the Nuggets’ unprotected 2032 first-round pick for Cam Johnson.

Brooklyn went into this offseason with a battle plan in mind. However, Porter Jr.’s elite play has a rebuilding team on the outside looking at top-three lottery odds. After an 0-7 start, the Nets are 7-11 in their last 18 games, falling to sixth in the draft lottery list.

Trading Porter Jr. would increase the Nets’ lottery odds and add to their leading cache of draft picks. However, they could have decided to keep their best player. With the Houston Rockets owning an unprotected trade for Brooklyn’s 2027 first-round pick, the team will look to be competitive next season.

Porter Jr. is young enough to serve as a building block for Brooklyn’s iteration. Whether the Nets decide to sell big or keep him as part of their next iteration will be among the top NBA storylines leading up to the trade deadline.

“We have him here because we believe in him,” Fernandez said last week. “We know how good he is and we believe we can develop him… Mike (can) get better, I think his ceiling is even higher. And I’m not going to say that, right now, what he’s doing is enough. He has to keep doing what he’s doing, and he can get even better.”