Michael Porter Jr. has kept his attention on making shots, not on the trade rumors surrounding him.
He’s ignored the rumors and raised his level of play. On Wednesday night, the Denver Nuggets forward matched his career high with 39 points in a 144-119 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. This came after scoring 36 points on Monday in another win over the Pelicans.
Porter had been the focus of trade talk ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. He got a confidence boost after Monday’s game when head coach Michael Malone simply said, “We’re not trading Michael Porter.”
“I can’t control whether I get traded or not, so that was never something I was stressed about,” Porter said after his big game Wednesday, in which he also grabbed 12 rebounds, had four assists, and stole the ball three times in nearly 37 minutes. “But it is nice to be somewhere where you’re wanted, and to know that your coach is saying that.
I know things can change quick in this league, and you’ve got to win, and you’ve got to produce, but it is good to know that you’re wanted somewhere.”
Porter shot the ball well all game, finishing 16 of 23 from the field and hitting five 3-pointers. His teammates made sure to get him the ball late in the game to help him break his career high, but his final jumper missed. The Nuggets are 15-2 when Porter scores 30 or more points.
“It wasn’t just the 39 and the pretty jump shot,” Malone said about Porter’s performance. “It was the rebounding. It was the defense. It was the activity and the playmaking as well. So hats off to Michael for just impacting the game across the board.”
Trade talk is a regular part of the NBA, and this season has already seen some major deals. Nothing surprises three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, who scored 38 points on Wednesday.
“Don’t take it personally. It’s a business. It’s a job,” Jokic said, giving advice to teammates who might get traded. “It’s not that you’re going to go do something else. You’re going to (another) team to play basketball. It can happen.
“That doesn’t mean that you’re a bad player, a good player. I think just maybe the team wants to change the energy. It’s a normal thing to happen in the NBA.”
Porter was selected by Denver at No. 14 in the 2018 NBA draft after a back injury affected his college career at Missouri. He sat out his first season in Denver following back surgery in July 2018.
In 2021, he signed a five-year maximum extension with the Nuggets. Over his career, Porter has shot 41% from 3-point range.
