The Brooklyn Nets continues to hear the rumors swirl of a possible separation between Michael Porter Jr. and the franchise.
Michael Porter Jr. handed the Brooklyn Nets heroism late against the Chicago Bulls -- scoring the layup to end the late comeback bid.
But does that hand him this title: The league's top target before the NBA trade deadline?
Porter's stock as of the weekend got revealed by Nets insider Erik Slater of ClutchPoints. Porter remains linked to the Milwaukee Bucks. as that team floats in the news amid the trade market.
But Slater shared where Porter ranks among tradeable assets.
"Porter is the top player on the market amid a breakout season while stepping in as Brooklyn's No. 1 option," Slater wrote. "The 6-foot-10 forward is in the running for his first All-Star appearance while averaging 25.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists on 49/40/84 shooting splits."
Slater dove into further reasons why the past NBA champion with the Denver Nuggets is the No. 1 guy to make a deal for. Especially with possibly being paired with another title winner in Giannis Antetokounmpo.
"Porter's elite floor-spacing and secondary shot creation would take a significant offensive burden off Antetokounmpo," Slater said. "Milwaukee's offense is 16.1 points worse per 100 possessions with Antetokounmpo off the floor, the highest on/off swing among any NBA player to play over 400 minutes, per CleaningTheGlass."
Brooklyn managed to end a five-game slide in Friday's home win over the Bulls. Yet most of the league sees Porter playing for a roster that's preparing for next year and beyond...but not built to win now.
"With the Nets in the early stages of a rebuild, league circles view Porter as attainable at the deadline, although the price won't be low," Slater said.
What could a potential deal look like involving Porter that becomes reasonable and workable?
"The Bucks could package Kyle Kuzma and other smaller contracts to match Porter's salary in a trade," he said. "The inclusion of their unprotected 2031 or 2032 first-round pick should be enough to pique Brooklyn's interest."
Brooklyn gained significant draft capital one year ago with five different picks. Egor Demin has risen as the headliner of the group despite an off shooting night against Chicago. Nolan Traore provides a spark as the facilitator -- including dishing out seven assists in Friday's contest. Danny Wolf is adding some interior defense while Drake Powell has seen an uptick in minutes as well, including stepping in for a resting Porter a week ago.
All those names hands head coach Jordi Fernandez and general manager Sean Marks building blocks should they move on from Porter Jr. But again, his price has gotten higher.
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