Nuggets small forward Michael Porter Jr. will undergo surgery on his lower back and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, per multiple reports, including Michael Singer of the Denver Post.
“We are extremely optimistic that he’ll make a full recovery,” Porter’s agent, Mark Bartelstein told Singer. “He’ll be out an undetermined amount of time as he makes his recovery.”
While Bartelstein said Porter is expected to miss a indefinite amount of time, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Porter is likely out for the year.
The Nuggets will err on the side of caution, a source told Singer.
Porter, 23, is 6-foot-10 and averaging 9.9 points and 6.6 rebounds in nine appearances this season. He exited the Nov. 9 game vs. the Rockets with the injury — though it likely was nagging for a while.
The No. 14 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Porter missed his most of his only college season and all of his rookie season after back surgeries.
He averaged career-highs of 19.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in 61 games last season, arguably his best yet.
The Nuggets were already missing guard Jamal Murray, and recently lost guard PJ Dozier for the season to a torn ACL. Along with all that, center and reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic has missed time with a wrist injury.
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