Michael Porter Jr. is coming off a season in which he averaged 19 points and 7.3 rebounds.
DENVER (AP)— Sharpshooting forward Michael Porter Jr. has signed a five-year maximum agreement with the Denver Nuggets worth up to $207 million.
His representative, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed the agreement to The Associated Press on Monday. ESPN originally broke the news, and the team officially announced the contract on Wednesday.
Porter’s contract would be worth at least $173 million over five years, with the option to increase to the maximum of $207 million if he meets certain conditions this season.
He’s guaranteed at least $29.8 million in 2022-23, a sum that may grow if he makes an All-NBA team or wins the league MVP award this season.
This caps a spectacular climb for Porter, whose college basketball career at Missouri was disrupted by a catastrophic back injury that had many questioning if he was worth the risk of being selected in the 2018 NBA draft. He fell to Denver at No. 14, the last lottery pick. Porter missed his debut season in Denver after having a back procedure in July 2018.
He recovered and was paid generously. Porter averages 14.4 points per game in the NBA, ranking eighth among those drafted in that class.
Porter, 23, recently finished a season averaging 19 points and 7.3 rebounds. He also led the Nuggets with 170 three-pointers.
The next step is to up his game even further.
Source: Denver Nuggets and Michael Porter Jr. agree to 5-year agreement | FOX31 KDVR
Perhaps even to the great heights he reached during the NBA bubble in 2020. He was chosen to the All-Bubble Second Team after averaging 22 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in Denver’s eight seeding games.
“He’s put up incredible numbers for a guy who’s only been in the NBA two years,” coach Michael Malone said. “The sky is the limit. Offensively, I believe he needs to be more disciplined when running the floor. The guy shoots the corner 3 like a layup, so we need to move him to the corners more.
“He needs to be more disciplined rather than pausing in the middle of the floor or above the break. Each of the 30 teams is trying to generate more corner 3s, and transition is a fantastic way to do so.”
The 6-foot-10 Porter has also been working on improving his defense.
Michael Porter Jr. signs a 5-year max agreement with the Nuggets | NBA.com.
“He doesn’t want to be a liability and he wants to be a player that I can trust at the end of games to close out games when we need a big stop,” Malone told ESPN. “I love the fact that he’s aware of that and he knows that it’s not about being a great scorer.”
This was Denver’s second major extension this month. The team also reached an agreement with Aaron Gordon on a four-year, $92 million contract. NBA MVP Nikola Jokic signed a five-year contract in 2018, and point guard Jamal Murray in 2019.
On Monday morning, Tim Connelly, president of basketball operations, appeared confident that a deal would be struck.
“The neat thing about extensions are there’s no acrimony,” Connelly went on to say. “When you have extension conversations, there should be nothing but smiles because it indicates a partnership that does not yet need to be prolonged, but we intend to do so. I don’t think the team or Michael can see him being anywhere else.