Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. has seen his name appear in plenty of trade rumors while in the midst of the best season of his career that could lead to an All-Star Game berth. Brooklyn has not given any indication as to whether they’re trading Porter or not, but that hasn’t stopped other teams from considering to go after him in the trade market.
“I think he [Porter] makes a ton of sense in Detroit. I have not been told yet that Detroit has called on Michael Porter Jr.,” NBA insider Jake Fischer said during a Bleacher Report livestream on Tuesday. During this particular segment, Fischer was detailing the players to watch as the league approaches the February trade deadline, with Porter being one of the biggest names on the list, possibly going to the Detroit Pistons.
“But, I have been told that they have at least discussed him internally. I think that makes a ton of sense because as good as the Pistons are leading the Eastern Conference wire to wire here, they do not have a bonafide second scorer behind Cade Cunningham. And I think Michael Porter Jr. could be that guy,” Fischer continued. To Fischer’s point, the Pistons have the best record in the Eastern Conference at 28-10 with their second-leading scorer being center Jalen Duren and his 17.9 points per game.
Porter, 27, is averaging 25.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 48.6% from the field and 40.1% from three-point land in 31 games played this season. As of this writing, Porter has already received interest from teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors, but the Pistons would be the best team that could potentially pursue the former Denver Nuggets sharpshooter.
When it comes to what package Detroit would be willing to give or would be expected to give to be able to entice the Nets to trade Porter to them, it seems that there are slight variations of the same offer. With where the Pistons are financially, they would have to send enough salary back to Brooklyn to make the money work and also give draft pick compensation since that’s what general manager Sean Marks and the front office. NetsDaily had the best summary of what such a deal could look like.
“ESPN, Clutch Points, the Athletic and the Detroit Free Press have all suggested some form of an MPJ-to-Detroit scenario, with more than one proposing a trade of Porter for the expiring contract ($26.3 million) of the 33-year-old Tobias Harris, the restricted free agent deal ($10.1 million) of 23-year-old Jaden Ivey and draft assets: at least one first round pick,” NetsDaily wrote.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Report: Nets’ Michael Porter Jr. discussed as trade target for Pistons
