If the Denver Nuggets are going to return to the NBA Finals next season, they don’t have much margin for error. Nikola Jokic needs to continue playing like an MVP, younger players like Peyton Watson and Christian Braun need to step up and thrive in their new roles, and Denver needs a big season from Michael Porter Jr.
Porter Jr. knows pressure is out there and feels it, something he talked about on the Ringer NBA Podcast.
“I would have played basketball, you know, before my injuries. You know, now it’s a little different, like it feels like work sometimes, but I love basketball so much. I would have played this game for free as long as I could. eat I loved it So like, the money-that was never my goal was like, take this as far as I could be.
“So man, the money almost honestly sometimes makes it hard to enjoy the game because with a max contract comes a lot of expectations for consistency, you’re supposed to be an All-Star, you’re supposed to be. this, that, whatever they say.”
Anyone who has had their hobby or passion become their job will tell you that it hits different, the pressure and expectations change the atmosphere. That said, no one has any sympathy for Porter Jr. on this front.
Porter Jr. is a quality player, averaging 16.7 points and 7 rebounds a game last season, shooting 39.7% from 3 and some shiftable (if not outstanding) defense. The Nuggets offense hits its highest gear when he hits 3s, especially in transition. He will also make $39.5 million this season and has three years, $115 million left on his contract.
In the second apron CBA world we now live in, a player taking 25% of the salary cap (as Porter Jr. is) must perform at an All-Star level or higher. Teams can’t easily carry three max players and the Nuggets have three with Jokic, Jamal Murry (who has yet to finalize his extension but expects to receive one) and Porter Jr. Combining those three contracts with ownership’s desire to stay out of the second apron, things happen like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope being allowed to walk as a free agent.
Porter Jr. sort of fall into the same space Zach LaVine and Brandon Ingram have found themselves in – outstanding players who bring important skills to the table, but aren’t seen in front offices as worth the contracts they’re on (or, with Ingram, want to sign later) . That’s where the real pressure comes in, the Nuggets need Porter Jr. to be worthy of that contract if they get Jokic another ring. He will have to be part of what fills the space left by KCP. How he handles that pressure and if he can live up to that standard will say a lot about the upcoming season in Denver.
