Michael Porter Jr. on Nets: 'We're Not Far Off From Being a Really Competitive Team'

The Brooklyn Nets' record doesn't inspire much hope on the surface of things, especially since they've gone just 3-16 in their last 19 games.

However, there are some bright spots Nets fans can look at when you look at the bigger picture. Brooklyn went 7-4 in December and boasted the league's best defensive rating, proving what this team is capable of when they're locked in and playing their best brand of basketball.

The Nets also have over 10 first-round picks in their cache, which will almost certainly be used to acquire game-changing talent within the next few years, perhaps a superstar. Brooklyn is also in a prime position to land one of the top draft prospects in this year's draft, namely Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Caleb Wilson, or Kingston Flemings.

For now, the Nets need to work with what they have. Michael Porter Jr. is seeing some silver linings despite Brooklyn's recent poor stretch.

"It's a process," Porter said. "This team has the pieces and we're developing the culture, but we're young, and we're growing. Just gotta be patient, and it's a season in my life just to learn a lot, to challenge myself, and it's one of those seasons in my life that I can either look at it as a blessing and look at the good things that can come from it, or look at all the hard parts about it, so I'm choosing to look at the good side of things.

"We'll keep learning how to close games as a group. We've been in games, and then we lose at the end, so I think we'll keep getting better at that. We're not far off, though, from being a really competitive team."

Michael Porter Jr. talks about returning to Denver and scoring a season-high 38 points against his old team. #NETSonYES pic.twitter.com/pdjJbBRUqE
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) January 30, 2026

Porter has seen his name pop up in trade rumors, as the Nets are keeping their eyes towards the future. However, MPJ seems to want to make Brooklyn his longterm home, and at this point, it seems like it'd take multiple first-round draft picks and/or a future young star for the Nets to even consider parting ways with their leafing scorer.

Things may look bleak right now in NetsWorld, but the Nets' fortunes could suddenly change if they're able to land a top 5 draft pick next to Porter and Nic Claxton. Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, and Danny Wolf should also continue to improve their games as they get more acclimated to the NBA.