The Los Angeles Lakers have the third-best chance of acquiring Michael Porter Jr. if the Denver Nuggets deal him this offseason.
Online Sportsbook According to NBA Central, the Golden State Warriors are the +300 favorite to sign the sweet-shooting 6-foot-10 Nuggets forward, followed by the Chicago Bulls (+400) and the Los Angeles Lakers (+600).
The Orlando Magic (+700), Boston Celtics (+800), Los Angeles Clippers (+900), Portland Trailblazers (+900), Phoenix Suns (+1400), and Toronto Raptors (+1800) are all on the list.
Porter Jr. hinted to a probable shakeup in Denver following the Nuggets’ second-round loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Everyone in this locker room means a lot to me,” Porter told The Denver Post. “I don’t know if it’ll be the same exact bunch next year.
But whatever comes next for me and this club, I’m confident that the boys will be ready.”
Michael Porter Jr. is Expensive for a Non-3-D Wing
Porter Jr. was unable to compete in the series due to an injured left shoulder. Against the Thunder, he averaged 7.4 points on 32.3% field goal shooting and 25% from three.
It was a long cry from his regular-season scoring average of 18.2 points on 50.4% field goal shooting and 39.5% from beyond the arc. The six-year veteran has two years remaining on his five-year, $207 million max contract. He’s owed $79 million over the next two seasons.
Porter’s size and shooting ability will help the Lakers complement their LeBron James-Luka Doncic combo. However, Porter is an expensive winger who struggles to defend.
This offseason, the Lakers can trade up to $70 million in expiring contracts, as well as their 2031 first-round selection and five pick swaps.
Rui Hachimura’s expiring $18.3 million contract, combined with salary fillers, could facilitate a Porter Jr. trade. However, their first aim is to find a starting-caliber center.
Austin Reaves for Star Centre?
According to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers will only make their third star, Austin Reaves, accessible on one condition.
“[Reaves] is not seen as “untradeable” because nearly no one in the NBA is. However, if the Lakers are going to trade him for a center, they will want one who is fundamentally significant — a build-around player rather than a fill-in for the glaring need at center (which they will need to address in other ways).
“If one of the best centers in the NBA were available, the conversations might be different, but at least now, during the first part of the offseason, that just isn’t the case,” Woike wrote in his LA Times’ Lakers newsletter on Thursday.
Reaves is eligible to sign a four-year, $89.2 million contract this summer, which is a significant increase over his current four-year, $54 million agreement. Even the maximum deal the Lakers can offer is below his market worth, thus he is projected to decline and enter unrestricted free agency in 2026.
According to ESPN’s front office source Bobby Marks, Reaves will be able to sign “a contract worth up to 25% of the salary cap” with the Lakers or any other team with cap space in the summer of 2026. Marks also stated that Reaves’ first-year starting salary under that max contract would be a stunning $42.5 million.
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