After news broke Monday of a max extension for Michael Porter Jr., he thought of the difficult journey it took to reach this point, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. There were serious questions about Porter’s long-term health heading into the 2018 draft after he injured his back in college. After being in consideration for the top pick when the season began, Porter slipped all the way to No. 14, where the Nuggets nabbed him as a long-term investment.
“I think it’s a lot more gratifying,” Porter said. “I’m one of those dudes, that even growing up, I didn’t think of it like, ‘Dang, I’m going to be making millions of dollars when I go to the NBA.’ I thought of it as, ‘Dang, I’m going to get to play against LeBron (James), (Kevin Durant).’ It was never about the money for me. … The road that I took made it so much more gratifying.”
After sitting out his first NBA season, Porter showed signs of stardom in 2019/20 and followed that with a breakthrough year, averaging 19.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game last season. He said that after learning of his extension, he called Jamal Murray and texted Nikola Jokic. They are the core that Nuggets management hopes will bring the franchise its first NBA title.
“We’re good to go,” Porter said. “Us three right there, when you’ve got (Aaron Gordon), you’ve got Will (Barton), Monte (Morris), we’re locked in. We know we’re going to be good. We know we’re going to be nice for years to come. … They didn’t pay us all this money to not win a championship.”
There’s more from Denver:
- Porter, one of a handful of high-profile NBA players who haven’t been vaccinated, talked about his decision with Singer in a separate story. “For me, I had COVID twice, I saw how my body reacted, and although the chances are slim, with the vaccine, there’s a chance you could have a bad reaction to it,” Porter said. “For me, I don’t feel comfortable.”
- Jeff Green, who signed with Denver in the offseason, is already making an impact at training camp, according to Eric Spyropoulos of NBA.com. The veteran big man brings a new element to the Nuggets’ offense and can guard a variety of players on the other end of the court. “His feel for the game, his versatility, even at his age his athleticism, it really felt like a seamless fit in that regard,” coach Michael Malone said. “So, I’ve been really impressed with Jeff.”
- First-round pick Bones Hyland has found there’s quite a bit to learn in his first training camp, Spyropoulos adds in the same story. “It’s a lot (to adjust to), you know, and that’s not lost on me,” Malone said. “It’s not lost on any of the coaches, because here’s a guy that just finished up his sophomore season at VCU, and he’s out here with 17 other NBA players, (learning) terminology, drills, (and a) new system.”
Anyone who refuses to get vaccinated deserves to catch covid twice. If Porter ends up having long-term issues from the disease, he has no one to blame but himself.
So If you get long term side effects from taking the vaccine, you only have yourself to blame?
Saying unvaccinated/vaccinated or anyone deserves to be sick and suffer long term effects, seems low class to me.
Side effects from the vaccine are way less severe and way less likely than the potential side effects from getting the disease.
link to wexnermedical.osu.edu
That’s great.
I’ve never disparaged anyone for taking.
I still stand for individual freedom and sovereignty to choose what pharmaceuticals they put into their bodies.
Anyone who refuses to respect the rights of others deserves to be shipped out to a country that holds the same standards.
…including respecting the rights of people who don’t want to have to continue to endure a preventable pandemic because of a-holes who won’t get vaccinated.
NBA is stepping and not going to pay these guys.
Like Denver’s team. They have depth this yr. When Murray comes back. They are going to be tough. Watch out in the playoffs. Time for Porter to fulfill some expectations.
The time for Porter to fulfill some expectations has been always ever since he was like 16yo & he’s always exceeded expectations, including this past postseason when he stepped up & led his team to 2 huge Ws vs Portland with Dame goin crazy. Totally agree that Denver is extremely deep tho. Monte Morris is top3 backup pgs in the league but they got guys like Howard, Nnaji & Bol plus the youngster Bones from VCU that’s all really talented young guys that are all gonna make their mark this season
Rank these diminutive Nuggets pgs, Earl Boykins, Michael Adams, Facundo Campazzo & Ty Lawson…
MPJ is such a legend, can’t wait for the next few years to see him unleash his full potential… also he comes across as a very articulate & likeable young man… his stance & personal view on the vax is so logical & makes so much sense that he is gonna be roasted for it, as folks don’t like rational intelligent opinions that differ with their bullying ones… I mean why would anyone hate on this super talented & likeable young man is just way beyond me!
@ElDon
a) What has he done, on any level, to call him a “legend”? Shouldn’t you accomplish monumental things (records, rings, etc) before your bestowed with the “legend” tag?
b) He might have a bad reaction to thr vaccine the same way he can have a bad reaction to ANY medication he takes. That’s why you see those disclaimers given during commercials for medicine.
c) Whos hating on him? Questioning, commenting on him or disagreeing with something he says is not “hate.
If MPJ had covid twice, then he could get it three times, more likely than getting it from a vaccine. Assuming he has ever had covid; I would not trust his self-diagnosis. Basically he just doesn’t want it and uses personal freedom as a cover. It fits with his game that he is antivax.