Michael Porter Jr.'s tenuous Nuggets future hanging in balance vs. Clippers

04/21/2025 01:56 PM

When the Denver Nuggets won their first championship in 2023, they did so with a collective of players stepping up. Although Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray paved the road to success, it was the secondary players like Aaron Gordon, Bruce Brown, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that supplied the extra production on offense and defense.

Michael Porter Jr. also held an essential role, and the Nuggets again need him to contend for a title.

As good as Porter can be at times as a three-point shooter and secondary rebounder, he can be a liability on defense more times than not. His struggles in the postseason also can’t be overlooked.

The Nuggets love Porter. Michael Malone always raved about the 6-foot-10 wing, and Porter has always had the support of the front office and ownership.

Well, Malone and GM Calvin Booth were fired before the end of the regular season. While there were reports earlier this season about Nuggets ownership not wanting to approve a trade involving Porter, Josh Kroenke recently denied this during a recent press conference, stating that those rumors were “completely false” since he wouldn’t approve any trade since “organizational cohesion” was nonexistent this season.

Could this mean that Porter’s future in Denver is murky?

Michael Porter Jr.’s playoff struggles

It is no secret that playoff struggles have followed Porter into the Nuggets’ first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers. Although Denver got past LA with a 112-110 overtime win in Game 1 on Saturday, Porter’s inefficiency loomed large.

He finished this game with only three points and four rebounds in 26 minutes. Interim head coach David Adelman benched Porter with 8:14 remaining in the fourth quarter and he did not play the rest of the game.

When the Nuggets lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2024 Western Conference Semifinals, Porter averaged only 10.7 points per game and scored below 10 points in five of the seven games. During Denver’s championship run in 2023, Porter averaged only 9.6 points per game in the NBA Finals.

These consistent playoff lapses are a major concern for the Nuggets and Porter, especially considering that he has begun the 2025 playoffs on the wrong foot.

Adelman will play the guys that give the Nuggets the best chance to beat the Clippers in this series, which is why he was so quick to pull Porter from Saturday’s game and leave him on the bench.

“You can say I chose not to play Michael or you say, ‘Should I put Michael in a really unfair situation?’ I think the five guys that finished did their job, and we won this game defensively,” Adelman told reporters after the win. “I’m coaching the game, so guys have to stay engaged themselves. These are grown men trying to win a basketball game on a team.

“If Mike comes out, and he plays, and he's engaged defensively, he's knocking down shots — Michael will be out there, just like everybody else in that locker room. We’re going to do anything we have to do to win a basketball game.”

Despite winning Game 1 against the Clippers without Porter contributing in a positive way, the Nuggets are going to need his contributions to win this series.

Denver needs MPJ to beat Clippers

The Clippers are an excellent defensive team. That showed through their ability to hold the Nuggets to only 98 points through four quarters, and LA ranked eighth in defensive rating during the regular season.

This is going to be a tough, gritty series that wears a ton of players down. Jokic and Murray will have their moments for the Nuggets, but just like in 2023 when those secondary guys stepped up, they will need to do so again for Denver to find success.

In Porter’s case, he is going to need to find ways to impact the game and stay engaged even if his shots aren’t falling. After all, Porter averaged 16.6 points per game while shooting 34.7 percent from three-point range in March and he finished the regular season scoring at least 15 points in four of his final five games.

Porter is capable of being the third scoring option that Murray and Jokic need him to be in the postseason. It will be interesting to see what his confidence level looks like in Game 2 on Monday night in Denver. His upcoming performance will be even more critical after Jokic’s recent verbal challenge.

“If you're not going to be engaged right now, then you're not supposed to be playing this sport,” Jokic said.

Winning masks a lot of problems for a franchise. That is why Malone wasn’t fired after the championship run in 2023. But once losses start to pile up, change is inevitable.

That is the situation facing Porter in this series against the Clippers, as lackluster performances piling on one another may lead to a full evaluation of his impact during the offseason.

Christian Braun has stepped up countless times this season for the Nuggets are one of the league’s most improved players, and Denver remains high on Peyton Watson’s development. This is especially true given Watson’s length and impact on defense.

Porter is a valuable player given his size and shooting abilities. He is going to have an advantage against smaller defenders in this series against Los Angeles, which is why Porter must establish a presence in this series while games are still being played in Denver.

If shots aren’t falling and his confidence continues to decline, not only will Porter see less playing time, but the Nuggets will be in danger of a first-round exit from the playoffs. As a result, Porter’s future will become a major talking point entering what will be an important summer for the Nuggets to establish what their future with Jokic and Murray looks like.

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