{"id":305099,"date":"2026-07-24T21:22:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T21:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/305099\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T21:22:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T21:22:48","slug":"holmes-michael-porter-jr-wants-brooklyn-but-the-post-lebron-market-may-test-the-nets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/305099\/","title":{"rendered":"Holmes: Michael Porter Jr. wants Brooklyn, but the post-LeBron market may test the Nets"},"content":{"rendered":"

LeBron James chose the Philadelphia 76ers<\/a>, leaving a handful of contenders with unfinished shopping lists and fewer stars left to chase. One of the next calls could reach Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

Michael Porter Jr. isn\u2019t LeBron. He doesn\u2019t direct an entire offense through his passing or command James\u2019 influence across the league. Still, few potentially available players offer Porter\u2019s combination of 6-10 size, high-volume shooting, championship experience and immediate scoring.<\/p>\n

Porter\u2019s value could rise at the precise moment the Nets must decide whether to keep him. He\u2019s spent months saying he wants to stay. At Fanatics Fest last week, he reflected on a first season in Brooklyn that felt like starting over. Denver had surrounded him with established stars and veterans. The Nets made him one of the oldest players on the NBA\u2019s youngest roster, gave him the largest offensive role of his career and asked him to help lead five rookies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re building something special over there,\u201d Porter said.<\/p>\n

Days later, James joined a 76ers roster featuring Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and V.J. Edgecombe. Teams that pursued James now need another plan. Eastern Conference contenders may also feel pressure to add enough firepower to keep pace.<\/p>\n

Porter gives Brooklyn a chance to benefit from both groups if interest grows beyond speculation.<\/p>\n

He made his case last season.<\/p>\n

Across 52 starts, Porter averaged career highs of 24.2 points and three assists while adding 7.1 rebounds per game. He shot 46.3% from the field, 36.3% from 3-point range and 85.9% at the free-throw line after spending years with the Denver Nuggets as a devastating shooter beside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn asked for far more. Instead of waiting for stars to create his opportunities, Porter attacked mismatches, worked through loaded defenses and became the scorer opponents designed their game plans to stop. Through his first 38 appearances, he averaged 25.6 points, fifth among qualified Eastern Conference scorers when All-Star reserves were announced Feb. 1.<\/p>\n

Nets general manager Sean Marks acknowledged Porter\u2019s evolution during the Nets\u2019 season-ending availability in April.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anybody questioned whether he could shoot, but I think could he be a number one option?\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I think for us, he\u2019s the number one option.\u201d<\/p>\n

A strained left hamstring ended Porter\u2019s season in March, and Brooklyn shut him down April 3. His medical history will remain part of any contract or trade evaluation, though he\u2019d missed only 14 games since the start of the 2023-24 season before suffering the hamstring injury.<\/p>\n

Even with the early finish, Porter gave the Nets leverage they didn\u2019t possess when they acquired him from Denver alongside an unprotected 2032 first-round pick. He proved he could carry a larger role, rebuilt his value and entered the summer eligible for an extension.<\/p>\n

Now comes the price.<\/p>\n

Porter is owed $40.8 million in 2026-27, the final season of his contract, before he can enter unrestricted free agency. Moving the salary would require work from any contender operating under the NBA\u2019s apron restrictions, but the expiring deal also limits the acquiring team\u2019s long-term risk.<\/p>\n

Mark Bartelstein, Porter\u2019s agent, recently confirmed discussions with Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael loves it in Brooklyn. Jordi [Fern\u00e1ndez] has been great for him,\u201d Bartelstein said on SiriusXM NBA Radio. \u201cI think it\u2019s a great fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both sides, Bartelstein added, must determine how they want to move forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can make it work where there\u2019s a long-term fit, that would be awesome,\u201d he said. \u201cBut that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to be talking about in the days ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris Haynes has reported what may follow if those conversations stall.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it becomes apparent early on that an extension is not in play, then I do believe the next step will be the Brooklyn Nets and Michael Porter Jr. potentially parting ways,\u201d Haynes said.<\/p>\n

James\u2019 move gives Marks another reason to examine the market, but it doesn\u2019t force the Nets to rush into a deal. Their current roster still needs what Porter provides.<\/p>\n

A projected starting group of Porter, Mikel Brown Jr., Egor D\u00ebmin<\/a>, Julius Randle and Day\u2019Ron Sharpe places two young guards beside a veteran frontcourt. Brown is a rookie. D\u00ebmin is entering his second season. Sharpe does most of his damage around the rim, while Randle creates from the elbows, attacks inside and pulls help defenders toward the paint.<\/p>\n

Porter stretches defenders in the opposite direction. His shooting gives Brown and D\u00ebmin more room to develop with the ball. Driving lanes widen for Randle. Sharpe gains space around the basket. Brooklyn has other forwards, but none matches Porter\u2019s blend of height, movement shooting and difficult-shot conversion.<\/p>\n

Randle\u2019s arrival should ease some of last season\u2019s burden, too.<\/p>\n

The Nets no longer need Porter to manufacture every difficult attempt late in the shot clock. Randle can absorb part of the creation load, while Brown and D\u00ebmin grow into larger responsibilities. Porter can remain a featured scorer without abandoning the off-ball movement and quick release he used during Denver\u2019s championship run.<\/p>\n

And beyond his offense, the roster needs his experience. Porter spent last season learning how to guide players still adjusting to NBA life. Marks said after the draft that Brooklyn wanted established professionals who could teach its young players the habits behind a long career.<\/p>\n

That responsibility once belonged to older teammates in Denver. With the Nets, it belongs partly to Porter. During his April exit interview, he said he wanted an extension and hoped to make Brooklyn his long-term home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to spend many, many years in Brooklyn and make this my home and build and watch this franchise take off,\u201d Porter said then.<\/p>\n

Porter, 28, produced career statistics for a 20-win team. A new agreement would carry him into his early 30s. His back surgeries and recent hamstring injury remain part of his profile, and his best role on a contender may still place him behind one or two primary creators.<\/p>\n

An oversized extension could weaken the flexibility Marks spent two years preserving. The right deal could secure Brooklyn\u2019s best shooter, support its young guards and prevent a valuable player from reaching free agency without compensation.<\/p>\n

Letting Porter walk would be difficult to defend unless the Nets have a specific plan for the resulting cap space. Brooklyn acquired him in an asset-building trade, expanded his responsibilities and helped him produce the best season of his career.<\/p>\n

A trade may become the better choice. It shouldn\u2019t become the easier one.<\/p>\n

The Golden State Warriors offer a warning against assuming every team connected to James will pursue Porter. Kevin O\u2019Connor reported Steve Kerr opposed acquiring him before the trade deadline and gave little reason to believe Kerr\u2019s position has changed.<\/p>\n

That report doesn\u2019t diminish Porter\u2019s value. It shows why Brooklyn must separate possible suitors from actual bidders.<\/p>\n

The Nets can extend Porter, carry his expiring contract into the season or move him before the deadline. None of those routes requires desperation. He hasn\u2019t requested a trade. Bartelstein has praised the fit. Porter\u2019s shooting remains essential to the roster Brooklyn assembled.<\/p>\n

Another team\u2019s urgency should raise the asking price.<\/p>\n

Expendable veterans and a heavily protected pick shouldn\u2019t be enough. A worthwhile return would require an attractive first-round selection, a young player under team control, useful salary structure or some combination of those assets.<\/p>\n

Anything less leaves the Nets better off keeping him.<\/p>\n

Porter wants to help build what comes next in Brooklyn. After James chose Philadelphia, the Nets can find out how badly another team wants to pull him away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LeBron James chose the Philadelphia 76ers, leaving a handful of contenders with unfinished shopping lists and fewer stars…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,115602,10581,4600,21,4475,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-305099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-cj-holmes","tag-lebron-james","tag-michael-porter-jr","tag-nba","tag-nets","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}