The Denver Nuggets took the NBA championship frontrunners to seven games in the second round of the playoffs, but the Oklahoma City Thunder ultimately pulled out to send Nikola Jokic and company home.
The Nuggets have now lost in the second round in consecutive years after winning the championship in 2023, and they could have a busy offseason ahead of them.
Nikola Jokic had a historic season, but many are questioning if he has enough help around him. Glue guys like Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun continue to step up, while scorers like Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. have been less consistent as second and third options.
Michael Porter Jr. was playing with a Grade 2 shoulder sprain for nearly the entire playoffs, so of course, he was not as effective as he would have been if healthy. But it was not a great showing from the 26-year-old forward.
The Nuggets are now heading into an offseason where clear changes are needed, and Porter Jr. could be on the chopping block. Nine-year NBA veteran Chandler Parsons urged the Nuggets to trade Porter Jr. this summer.
“The only thing they could do is possibly trade one of them and I think that would be Michael Porter. He’d be the one to go,” Parsons said. “It’s not going to be Murray, it’s not going to be Jokic, obviously. Aaron Gordon, that’s someone I want in that locker room.
“Porter is the one that I think fans kind of grew frustrated with. He was very inconsistent, he shot extremely ineffective from the field this series. I know he was playing through an injury in his shoulder, but I think if they had to make a move, it would be Porter and some picks to kind of better that roster. The window is closing. Jokic is getting older.”
Of the Nuggets’ core group of players, Michael Porter Jr. certainly seems like the most likely to get traded this offseason, especially as they continue to try to capitalize on three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
