Report: Nuggets ownership didn’t want to trade Michael Porter Jr. at deadline

According to NBA insider Matt Moore, Denver Nuggets ownership didn’t want to trade Michael Porter Jr. at the February trade deadline. 

The Nuggets made two drastic moves on Tuesday, firing general manager Calvin Booth and head coach Michael Malone. 

“The Nuggets knew entering the year they were short on shooting,” Moore wrote. “Booth said as much at media day. But he was unable to do anything at the deadline because he exhausted his second-round assets to dump Reggie Jackson to sign Russell Westbrook and the first-rounders had already been dealt. The young talent had no value. Trading Michael Porter Jr. was the most obvious pathway, but sources say not only was the market cool on Porter for multiple reasons but ownership had said two months before the deadline they were against trading Porter.”

Porter Jr. has appeared in 74 games for the Nuggets this season. He’s averaging 18.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 50.4% from the field, 39.3% from beyond the arc and 76.9% from the free-throw line. 

Denver signed Porter Jr. to a five-year, $172 million extension in 2021. Porter Jr. will make $38,333,050 next season and $40,806,150 in 2026-27, the final year of his contract. 

The Nuggets are in fourth place in the Western Conference standings. They have three games remaining in the regular season against the Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets. 

Porter Jr. was the 14th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. He missed his entire rookie season with a back injury. The 26-year-old has career averages of 16.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists. 

The Nuggets won the 2023 championship against the Miami Heat. However, they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the 2024 playoffs despite having homecourt advantage in the series. 

Nikola Jokic, one of the top centers in the NBA, did not request Malone to be fired as head coach, per Moore.