NBA GM Says Lakers Should Trade For Nuggets’ Michael Porter Jr.

An NBA general manager told Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports that the Los Angeles Lakers should trade for Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. this offseason. 

“If they want to get better, that is who they’d go after,” one Eastern Conference GM told Heavy Sports. “They need a gunner who is not afraid to shoot and they’d be much better off if he can be a 3-4 like LeBron, if he is not a size mismatch. A knockdown shooter who creates space, that’s the first step to getting them back to contender status again.”

Porter Jr. appeared in 81 games for the Nuggets this season. He averaged 16.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 48.4% from the field, 39.7% from beyond the arc and 83.6% from the free-throw line. 

The Nuggets beat the Lakers in the first round of this year’s playoffs in five games. Porter Jr. averaged 22.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in the five-game series while shooting 55.3% overall and 48.8% from 3. 

The Lakers have lost to the Nuggets in the last two playoffs. Denver swept Los Angeles in the 2023 Western Conference Finals. 

Porter Jr. will make $35.9 million next season. The swingman has career averages of 15.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists. 

“And the Nuggets might be looking for more financial relief than L.A. could offer,” Deveney wrote. “Still, if the Nuggets are hoping to become a deeper team after their Bruce Brown-less bench was exposed against Minnesota in the conference semis, a package of Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and Jalen Hood-Schifino could get a trade done.”

The Nuggets, who won the NBA championship last year versus the Miami Heat in five games, lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of this year’s postseason in seven games. 

For what it’s worth, according to NBA insider Harrison Wind Of DNVR Sports, the Nuggets are not looking to trade Porter Jr., who was the 14th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.