SEPTEMBER 29: Porter’s extension is now official, the Nuggets announced today in a press release.
Meanwhile, more details have emerged on Porter’s fifth-year salary. Only $12MM of his $39.3MM salary for that season is guaranteed, sources tell Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link). It can become fully guaranteed based on All-Star, All-NBA, or All-Defensive honors, or MVP or Defensive Player of the Year awards.
According to Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link), one All-Star appearance for Porter would increase the fifth-year guarantee by $5MM, while two All-Star nods would fully guarantee that $39MM+ salary. There are several other potential triggers, Singer adds.
SEPTEMBER 27: The Nuggets and forward Michael Porter Jr. have reached an agreement on a five-year contract extension worth the maximum salary, agent Mark Bartelstein tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
The deal currently projects to be worth $172.5MM, based on the NBA’s projection of a $119MM salary cap for the 2022/23 season. However, the contract will include Rose Rule language, allowing Porter to potentially earn 30% of the cap in the first year of the extension (rather than 25% of the cap) if he makes an All-NBA team in 2021/22. In that scenario, the five-year contract would be worth a projected $207MM.
The fifth year of Porter’s contract will be partially guaranteed, according to Ryan McDonough of Audacy Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that MPJ’s fifth-year salary would become fully guaranteed if he meets certain “lofty” performance benchmarks.
The Nuggets’ investment signals how far the former 14th overall pick has come since missing his entire rookie season in 2018/19 due to a back injury. After playing a modest role in ’19/20, Porter became a key piece for Denver last season, averaging 19.0 PPG and 7.3 RPG with an impressive .542/.445/.791 shooting line in 61 games (31.3 MPG).
Porter still has plenty of room to improve on the defensive side of the ball, but the 23-year-old has displayed the potential to become one of the NBA’s very best scorers, so there was no chance the Nuggets would let him get away.
With extensions for Porter and Aaron Gordon completed this offseason, the Nuggets’ roster is getting very expensive. The newly-extended forwards won’t even be Denver’s highest-paid players — that honor belongs to veteran stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, who are earning a combined $60MM+ in 2021/22.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, the Nuggets project to carry about $156MM in team salary for the ’22/23 campaign and are on track to be a taxpayer for the first time in over a decade. The team remains below the tax line for the ’21/22 season.
Porter’s deal is the fourth maximum-salary rookie scale extension to be finalized this offseason, with the Nuggets forward joining Luka Doncic, Trae Young, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. As our tracker shows, Robert Williams is the only player who has received a rookie scale extension below the max so far in 2021.
Mark the window closed for the Nuggets. MPJ is a fine player. But he is not worth 25% of the cap for a championship team. They aren’t going to get to the top of the mountain with contracts like that.
He’s still ascending, IMO. Coming from a Mavs fan. You may be right, but his injury history would be my biggest concern.
As opposed to them luring FA’s historically? They’re young. I think they’ll be fine. The issue is that they need Murray to be Murray once he’s healthy again.
If he’s not 30% then they are getting a terrible deal on the 25% !
Agree Michigan
I call it Wiggins 2.0. A overpaid player that will put up points but not a star. He is not a top 30 player in the NBA. I would say he doesn’t even crack the top 50 players in the NBA. He better improve a lot to deserve that much pay.
Dude, are you high? I’m suspending you for failing a drug test. Wiggins is an enigma. He’s a no. 3 scorer at best. He’s hit his ceiling and regressed. MPJ is still ascending, has a better work ethic and will improve. He says he’s just now feeling the best he’s felt since his back injury. He rebounds. Wiggins doesn’t. MPJ was improved as a defender in the second half of last season before his postseason failure. The Nuggets had to pay him or risk losing him. The money is absurd but most all NBA money is absurd.
I agree he’s being paid on potential. And he’s only played one full yr. I would’ve waited to sign him. He’s a unique talent for his size. But he hasn’t done anything yet. Big gamble IMO.
Idk, 542/.445/.791 in 30 minutes a night sounds like one of the most efficient players in the League.
He’s not worth that now, but if his defense improves he will be worth it. It’s a calculated bet, and not a terrible one.
Also, with the new TV contract money due in a few years this will look like a bargain.
Their whole core is in place for a few years now. They have Bol who don’t even utilized yet and might be really good. They have the league MVP who’s still very well in his prime. Porter is only 23. To call their window closed and to have 7 people actually like that comment is very confusing to me.
Exactly, relatively young team.
Obviously last year would have been ideal with the Lakers plummeting after AD hurt, but murray got hurt.
Still plenty of time with this team. Nuggets have also shown they can scout and develop some solid role players as well.
I think he is on the rise IF he improves defensively and stays healthy.
He’s one of the most impressive scorers at a premium position as well. Many teams wish they had a high profile scorer at the 3 spot.
Gotta love the Knicks for not taking a chance on him, even though they had nothing to lose and everything to gain I guess Knox potential is too high for them to ignore
Don’t remind me. To think they could’ve had MPJ, Mitchell and Haliburton makes me sick.
Revisionist history on past drafts is a fruitless proposition and not a road worth traveling
I think it is a worthy endeavor.
At the very least , it gives you a gauge to compare awful GM’s/Organizations to successful ones.
With Jerry West as their consultant, they passed on Porter Jr twice with the two previous draft slots. Sometimes you whiff.
The inevitable conclusion?— knowledge of future events is always key. Too bad that knowledge is not available in the present.
well said
Meh. Player performance from drafts is directly tied to opportunity and supporting cast. If Donovan Mitchell was drafted almost anywhere other than Utah, he would likely not even be in the league now. At the very least, he likely wouldn’t be an All Star. Utah gave him the chance to gain confidence and get playing time. Anywhere he would have wasted away in the G League or the bench. And the opposite is true of a lot of players as well, especially those drafted from like 8-20. The skill level on those picks is not that big, but the chance to play can be huge.
To continue the example, one has to wonder how successful Mitchell would have been in Charlotte or Detroit. And would Malik Monk or Luke Kennard have broken out and become All Stars if they were selected in the Denver spot that got traded to Utah.
Ultimately it is fruitless, but I disagree that it is not a road worth traveling. These can be really interesting thought experiments.
Did you literally say Mitchell would likely be out of the league by now if he wasn’t drafted by Utah? You can’t be serious!
I’m not a Spyda Mitch fan, but he’s not that much of a victim to his environment. You really see the world that way?
Garbage philosopher!
Yes, I did “literally” say that. Now for bonus points, what else did I clearly say?
BTW, learn how to use the word literally.
Well said. I’ll add that this is especially true if you’re a Knick fan though.
Deep. The board philosopher.
Board philosopher or bored philosopher? Maybe a bit of both.
ha, reminds me of Norm Macdonald’s (RIP) joke about Carrot Top’s movie Chairman of the Board on Conan way back when.
You can thank the kings medical staff! He was guaranteed to go #2 overall. And Kings doctor was the one who said “he’ll never play again.”
So he slid the #14 w/ nuggets
We don’t need him. We don’t want him. He’d never please Thibs. We’re doing just fine. Knicks in your head for What Reason ??
You say “we” a lot for someone with Dorito dust on your keyboard
NBA players eat Doritos too. I’m sure at least a few anyway.
Don’t hate on Doritos! Is dorito dust on your keyboard some kinda metaphor? What does that mean?
Dorito dust, lol
Thats crazy seeing as nuggets couldn’t win with this core so far so adding 50 million more to keep it around makes little to no sense. Nuggets are likely a 2nd round exit lol. Only way this makes sense is if Murray gets delt for younger cheaper assets
To be fair the core hasn’t played at full strength in the playoffs.
They just made it to the WCF literally just 12months ago
I think he means with Aaron Gordon and THIS version of MPJ? I still think losing Jerami Grant really ruined their defensive intensity. He was such a glue guy. Vastly underrated.
Aaron Gordon is just as good as Jerami defensively & offensively if not better
Gordon is severely overrated.
Who is rating him that high? He’s an above average NBA forward, very versatile & athletic
Grant is/was a mediocre defender, greatly overrated. That’s not his game.
Jerami Grant is definitely an above average defender
I’d love to have Grant on Knicks. I agree very underrated. He’s made tremendous progress last few yrs. One of best 2way players in NBA. Still only 26 yrs old. 2020-21 year making 20 mill
.845% FT, 4.6 reb, 2.8 ast, 22.3 pts
And great defense. He’s absolutely a glue guy. Thibs would love this guy.
Offensively he’s not an efficient player though.
@Tatsumaki
You actually think it’s ok to trade Murray, a draft day win, for more lottery picks? Dude, part of being a great team that drafts well is thst eventually, you have to pay them for being the great player you thought they would become. However, in the case of Porter Jr. I would have waited until next year to extend him. Show me 1 more year of health and all-star level performance.
Clippers passed on this man for Jerome Robinson
Also for SGA (after trading)
SGA is all-around
I wanted SGA for the Nuggets. Things worked out for the Clips/OKC and Denver.
Get that $ boy!
Extremely happy for this kid who had to overcome numerous obstacles. Born scorer, great rebounder, great shooter, sky’s the limit for MPJ
Totally agree Sankara!
This is a very well priced, team friendly deal for MPJ!
That dude is sooo insanely good, he will take off this year, make no mistake about it!
Definitely he has earned every cent & more of the new contract!!!
@ElDon
Do you understand the definition of “team friendly”? They’re paying him the maximum allowed the first 4 yrs. The only way he doesn’t get the full amount of the 5th year is if he underperforms. That’s not really “team friendly” at all. And to be frank he isn’t letting like a max player YET. They are hoping he stays healthy and GROWS into the contract meaning becomes a perpetual all-star caliber 25+ ppg player. He certainly has the ability to but a career year of 19pts and 7 rebounds isn’t top 20 player probably.
First they give Aaron Gordon $88M now Porter’s getting $172M. Roll those dice.
It takes talent to win & talent don’t come cheap. How long you been watching pro sports?
Wow, Im not even sold on the game being worth a max… he seems to play defense only sporadically , is streaky, doesn’t necessarily make anyone better, and ofc the huge inj concerns
Personally ida traded him when his salary reflected a bargain for a true bonified Big fish (and id be paying the same today basically ) …..I keep thinking back to Harden, I mean the sitch was ugly at the time but man I think a couple teams (Philly and Den ) maybe should have jumped a little harder…. You almost have to take huge risks in the NBA today wityh your money….I mean Denver sat and waited to what…Take this HUGE risk today ? There’s no avoiding huge financial risks these days so the concept of waiting only prolongs these decisions and makes um harder …..but maybe just maybe Houston thought this way all along….they didnt want a Ben or MPJ bc they didnt want to overpay someone just based on stature
Based on stature lol???? Wtf does that even mean? Lol do y’all not recognize rare talent when you see it? He’s CLEARLY a young beast. It’s not easy to acquire guys like MPJ. When you draft a guy like him & he pans out to the extent Mike has you lock him up. No brainer.
It means he’s not worth 40/per Imo obv
And yes I think he has gotten a tad too much hype which got him to that 40 number ultimately
He’s a scorer….that’s not too rare today my friend
Too much hype lol have you seen this kid play? He’s got the type of game that can carry teams to victory on a given night. He’s already 1 of the best scoring forwards in the league & he hasn’t even hit his prime yet. Ima be honest I thought the days of people doubting MPJ been over lol the people that comment on this site are something else tho lol. Portland was tied 2-2 with Denver & MPJ killed them in the next 2gms, ask them if he’s just hype
“Plays defense sporadically, doesn’t make teammates much better, and ofc the huge inj concerns”….yea I’ve seen him plenty …when he’s healthy
I notice you skipped around that part that was in my introduction and instead asked me a condescending question of “Have I seen him play”?
We are talking Max here, its a different arena, one I dont think MPJ has proven yet….and furthermore my post was mostly about you could have gotten TRUE max for him earlier but opted just to max him instead…think it was a mistake
He makes all of his teammates better bc he’s 1 of the best 3pt shooters in the league. He’s also a great cutter & his overall knack for scoring creates assist opportunities for Jokic/others. I fully agree he’s not good defensively but ofc neither is Jokic & I highly doubt you would bring that up in the first sentence you describe him with. As far as huge injury concerns I’m guessing you had those same concerns when he was drafted. You were wrong then & even more wrong now bc it’s very obvious that he’s answered those concerns. He missed 0 of his first 29 postseason games & his back hasn’t given him any problems since he’s been a pro
What max player was going to come to Denver that they’ll regret singing Porter instead of?
How many 22yos in league history scored 19/gm on 45% from trey? And now how many were 6’10?… He’s extremely rare
Sankara, have you seen MPJ play? His D is comical and he can only think of 3s on offense.
You’re thinking of Doug McDermott or Kyle Korver or Davis Bertans. MPJ is clearly much better, hence the contract
Why did you list all whites, Sankara. Follow MPJ on defense sometime, don’t just look at offensive stats. He could hardly do a better impression of a clown. You only see certain things.
MPJ is not a Steph-level shooter. He isn’t nearly that creative.
It’s not just that’s he’s a scorer. But he does it with extreme efficiency and within the flow of the offense. Scoring in general isn’t rare, but scoring in that nature is.
He’s a Steph-level shooter. That’s really all you need to know. And he’s 23 and 6 ft 10.
Michael Porter jr better give Aaron Gordon a thank you phone call today, and offer to pay for dinner every night the next few seasons. If not for him, and guys like Paul Millsap and Jamychal Green, and a little bit of PJ Dozier helping hide his deficiencies, and complement his strengths, this wouldnt be happening at that level
He should actually thank himself and buy gifts for himself bc he’s the one that overcame the injuries and the surgeries and the rehab & he’s the one that worked on his game since he was a kid. This is a major accomplishment for MPJ and his family no doubt
Gotta agree with you Sankara… this forum is full of people with very weird & wrong views about hoops… I mean if you can’t see that MPJ is beyond deserving this contract… well… clearly hoops ain’t your thing, right?
I agree with your basketball point. But saying basketball isn’t meant for someone who doesn’t agree with your views, is just wrong in my opinion. I’d give him the money based on how hard it is to get premium talent in FA especially at that young age. I also like how efficient he is and I think he has a sky high ceiling and very high floor as well. But I can understand the other side too. No defense, injury history. Betting everything on potential. You def don’t pay 40 mil a year for 19-8 no after how efficiently you get those 19 a game. But at 23 you gotta think there’s a lot of upside. I’m not familiar with his character and work ethic, but would would also weigh heavily on how I’d project him to develop in the future.
He only likes players that score, or are perception media stars
I didnt suggest anything about his talent. I said “at this level.” If not for those guys, he wouldnt command that amount at this time. He is obviously super talented offensively. Anyone that doesnt know that is in a different universe
He has had great start to his career and is improving and maturing year to year. Hopefully, he doesnt lose motivation and get sidetracked with $200m. Congrats to him and his dad! What a journey!
They did it. The rise & fall.
I wonder what Sexton gets at 24ppg and 48/38/81 shooting and 4.4 apg as a SG. Can you justify giving him less than $30 mil per if not max?
Absolutely love how Denver has put this team together. Hoping they can stay healthy and make a real shot at a championship run one of next few years. Fun team to watch
MPJ is a 2k’ers’ HOF’er. But, from an NBA perspective, there’s no reason (other than taking the path of least resistance in the name of peace and quiet) to give him a max deal now. He’s elite at two aspects of the game, and, just based on those, could at some point be All Star as a (defensively challenged) PF. But his deficiencies are equally obvious, as are the issues with his fit in DEN. He lacks the skills of a true combo F, and is a poor individual and team defender. DEN covers for him defensively, but the cure (a second PF) may be worse than the disease. Their mixing and matching (more mixing than matching) at the F spots has left them short on true perimeter players with size, and there’s a point in the playoffs where that’s going to be a problem. Aggregate talent may bail them out. But, IMO, Jokic deserved a better plan that the one that this path of least resistance move reflects.
I kinda agree. Why give him it now. He will still make the same 4th year salary, so why sign him now knowing he has a history of medical red flags?
Makes no sense. They didn’t even use the sign for a dollar less than max maneuver so they give him the max basically but cap it so he doesn’t rise with the salary cap.
Amen, Jokic deserved a better plan.
Eventually the inflexible MPG will determine the offense and defense and Jokic will just be the big lug in the middle.
Signing MPG is the path of least resistance NOW, but Nuggets have worked down this path since he became available in the draft. Other options have been sacrificed… Grant, Millsap, Bol, eventually Jokic.
This is quite the take.
MPjr averaged 24.6 in the last meaningful games they played in the regular season after Murray went down. A jump in offense to being an efficient 25 to 30 point per game scorer seems reasonable to expect barring injury. (Better posting up smaller defenders, better at putting the ball on the floor, a little better at playmaking, consistent effort on defense) (all seem reasonable). MPjr is athletic enough to be a plus defender. Nuggets will win games as long as Jokic is healthy…bc they’ll be winning, MPjr’s contract won’t acquire that big numbers for a loser rep and should be moveable. Nuggets are paying MPjr as the second or third leg of a big 3…will he give you more than Cavs Love, Miamis Bosh, Celtics Allen…probably…will it be enough for a championship…no…not unless Murray comes back and plays like an ascending all star…and even then do they have enough??? Yeah, maybe MPjr’s career gets derailed by injuries but I think this is a risk the Nuggets needed to take.