Michael Porter Jr. Feels Trade From Nuggets Benefited Everyone

We're now over six months removed from the Denver Nuggets' offseason deal to send out Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected first round pick to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Cam Johnson–– a trade that's certainly had some interesting results pan out in the early months because of it.

While the Nuggets haven't gotten to see much of Johnson in their lineup due to his hyperextended knee injury suffered at the end of December, the Nets have seen a lot of Porter Jr. in their lineup; a situation he's been able to thrive in through the first half of his 2025-26 campaign.

He's averaging a career-high 25.6 points per game, shooting the ball efficiently at 48.2% from the field and 39.8% from three, and despite the Nets having posted limited wins on the board in the process, it's shown just how talented of a scorer Porter Jr. can be when given the keys to an offense.

When asked about his trade from the Nuggets following the events of Denver's latest win vs. the Nets, Porter Jr. felt as if the move was a "unique" one that worked out for all parties involved.

"I would say it's a very unique situation where I think both organizations and both teams kind of benefited from the trade," Porter Jr. said, via Bennett Durando on X. "I don't look back at it with any saltiness toward the organization or anything. I think they got a lot out of trading me. They got not only Cam, but Valanciunas, Bruce, Tim Hardaway, who's playing amazing."

"I think it's cool. And I still keep up with them. They've been able to stay afloat when Joker's out, AG's out, CB's out. And I don't know with our roster last year, if some of those guys went down, if it would have been the same. So it probably is one of those unique trades where it kind of worked out for everybody."

A few weeks ago in Brooklyn, David Adelman said the Cam Johnson for Michael Porter Jr. trade was good for everyone involved. I asked MPJ how he would assess the trade now, a few months removed from it. pic.twitter.com/4RHnPTinWC
— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) January 30, 2026

Michael Porter Jr. Sees Nuggets-Nets Trade as a Success

Rather than any winners or losers in their offseason deal, Porter Jr. sees the Nuggets, Nets, and even himself getting exactly what was advertised out of the move to make it an all-around success.

For Porter Jr., he's gone on to post the best-ever production in a short time with Brooklyn. For the Nets, they might've found a new franchise cornerstone, or if anything, a wildly appreciated trade piece to utilize for next week's deadline to keep building up their future. For Nuggets, they got their aspired depth, cap savings, and well-rounded lineup that they walked out of the initial deal looking for.

Jan 27, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. (17) and guard Terance Mann (14) against the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Sure, Porter Jr. being able to blossom into an offensive star in Brooklyn doesn't exactly do the Nuggets any favors, and giving up an unprotected first round pick in 2032 does also sting a bit further with hindsight 20/20.

However, when playing next to talents like Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, it was hard to envision a season for Porter looking anything like his current one— nearing All-Star levels of production— coming to fruition in Denver any time soon.

Instead, the Nuggets opted to boldly pivot off of their three-level scorer, brought in Cam Johnson and an abundance of depth behind him with the cap saved, and has allowed Denver to stay afloat in the West despite being down several important names in their rotation. Without that offseason gamble, it's hard to say Denver would be top-three in the West like they are now.

Once the Nuggets are back healthy with everyone in their lineup, including Johnson from his lingering knee injury, then we'll be able to more accurately judge the outcome of the offseason move from Denver's perspective. As for Porter, though, he's clearly content with how his ending in the Mile High wound up turning out.

Michael Porter Jr. Sees Nuggets-Nets Trade as a Success

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