A source tells Mike Singer of The Denver Post that Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are expected to be physically cleared to return to action before the regular season ends. However, a person close to Murray tells Singer that the prolonged rehab process as he recovers from a torn ACL has been more mentally challenging than Murray anticipated.
The Nuggets say Murray will return when he’s ready, both physically and mentally. So even if he’s physically cleared, he might not return this season. Ultimately Murray will decide when that exact date is.
Porter’s situation is different, Singer writes, because he’s already had multiple back surgeries and understands how his body responds to injury, surgery and rehab. Porter has progressed rapidly and has been going extensive shooting drills after practices.
“We couldn’t be happier with where he’s at in terms of his recovery from surgery and his progression towards playing,” Mark Bartelstein, Porter’s agent, told The Denver Post. “He badly wants to play, but we need to check all the boxes before that happens. He’s in as good of a place as we could’ve imagined.”
The Nuggets have actually had to caution Porter not to overexert himself in the recovery process, as they want him healthy long-term after inking him to a rookie scale max extension prior to the season. There’s no official timeline for either player to return.
Here’s more from Denver:
- Guard Monte Morris was absent during the team’s loss to Boston Friday night because he’s in the NBA’s concussion protocol, as Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets.
- The Nuggets made a minor trade last month and were active ahead of the deadline, but several possibilities fell through. President of basketball operations Tim Connelly said he was slightly disappointed about the inactivity, per Singer of The Denver Post. Appearing on Altitude Radio Friday morning, Connelly also said that it would be “irresponsible” not try and build around reigning MVP Nikola Jokic in the midst of his prime.
- In a separate article for The Post, Singer explains that the Nuggets didn’t need to make moves because they recognize that the potential returns of Murray and/or Porter could be more impactful than any deal they had lined up. Coach Michael Malone explained that was the case. “We’re not in a situation where we feel we need to make a move,” Malone said. “… We understand that this year, without Jamal and Michael, it’s different than most.”
- Matt Schubert of The Denver Post graded Connelly’s deadline performance, giving him a B-plus. Schubert writes that the absences of two of the team’s top three players has put a ceiling on the team, and another trade on the fringes likely wouldn’t have changed the season outcome significantly — only the return of those missing players might. He also notes that Connelly didn’t trade away any future first-round picks, which is important because he’s proven to be adept at finding hidden gems on draft night.
Any team out there willing to take on the risk of MPJ if the Nuggets try to dump him?
Thunder? Pistons?
I think there would be a market but there wouldn’t be much coming back to Denver
I wouldn’t do it as an opposing GM as much as Porter has to offer
Back injs never really go away; they just stay dormant at times. This is exactly why he slipped at the draft, Gm’s didn’t want this problem looming day to day year to year on the ledger for big bucks when the time came
Right. Might as well hope for the best if you’re the Nuggets.
It’s the same with Kyrie and the Nets, but for different reasons. As much of a pain as he is, there is no deal out there that would make sense for the Nets to deal him. The returns would just be too low to justify giving up on the talent.
They’re both stuck, for better or worse. No sense in making things worse now; the damage was already done long ago.
As for the injury itself, from the research I had done at the time it seemed like there was a decent chance Porter might make it to 30 with minimal issues, but past there and into retirement age there was going to be a growing probability that he’d have major issues. That’s all the Nuggets can hope for at this point.
Dump Porter? Why if he comes back healthy there’s no telling what his ceiling could be let him play he’s a pure shooter.
He’s great if healthy but he might also spend the rest of his career staring at the ceiling on the sidelines like Mike Miller. Laying flat on his back during timeouts.
That’s a big chance to take for 30 million a season.
MPJ is such a beast & one of the greatest talents to come to the league in the last few years… can’t wait for him to come back & be a great 1-2 with Jokic!!!
Last night, the Celtics did not guard Campazzo. They had his defender camped out in the passing lanes. The Nuggets scored 10 points in the last 6 minutes because the Celtics were defending 5 on 4. The Nuggets should not be playing Campazzo. Jokic is the point guard of the team. They don’t need to play a point guard. Campazzo needs to be below Murray/Monte/Barton/Bones/Rivers/Bryn Forbes and Aaron Gordon on the point guard depth chart.
His minutes have dwindled. He played last night because Morris was out. I also think fans miss what Facu does bring: energy, passing, thievery and some good mayhem to the floor. He’s a smaller Marcus Smart, but sans the defense.