2018-19 Season Preview: Michael Porter Jr. is the Nuggets' ultimate wild card

The most definitive answer that the Denver Nuggets have given regarding first-round pick Michael Porter Jr.’s status for this season came from head coach Michael Malone at Summer League.

“We understood the risk-reward situation with Michael Porter, and we felt at 14 he was far too great of a talent to pass up,” Malone said. “And we’re going to to be patient. We’re not going to rush him back, and that’s the luxury we have.

“We have a very good team coming back, we have a very deep team, so there’s no reason for us to say, ‘Michael’s got to play this year.’ We’re going to give him all the time and treatment he needs to get better and hopefully he can get back and help us this year.”

Malone’s comments echoed what others in the organization said following the draft. At his post-draft presser, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said that Denver selected Porter with the belief that the rangy 6-foot-11 do-it-all wing would be a “long-term play” for the organization. President Josh Kroenke echoed those remarks a few days later. Following Porter’s back surgery in July — his second operation in around nine months — Denver said its lottery pick had no timetable for a return to basketball activities.

The Nuggets are in no rush to get Porter on the floor this season.

Why? Denver is returning its top six players from last season’s 46-win team in Will Barton, Gary Harris, Nikola Jokic, Trey Lyles, Paul Millsap and Jamal Murray. Malik Beasley, Torrey Crag, Juancho Hernangomez and Mason Plumlee, all key rotation players from last season, are back too. The Nuggets don’t need Porter to break their five-year playoff drought, and at 14th overall, Denver was in prime position to take a calculated risk on one of the three or four players in the draft with the ceiling to eventually become the top player in their class.

That doesn’t mean the Nuggets have avoided imagining a future where Porter is galloping down the court, catching lobs from Jokic or spotting up beyond the arc off a Murray drive-and-kicks.

Porter is a natural small forward with elite scoring and playmaking instincts. At close to 7 feet tall with a 9-0 1/2 standing reach, Porter looks like he was constructed in a basketball laboratory as a carbon copy of Kevin Durant. He was a blue-chip prospect, a McDonald’s All-American and a unanimous top-two high school prospect in his class.

Before his back injury, Porter’s athletic ability allowed him to get up any shot he wanted off the dribble or drive. In the half court, he could rise up over smaller or like-sized defenders, square up to the basket in mid-air and score with ease. In transition, Porter ran the floor like a gazelle, with strides so long that he could go from foul line to foul line with only a couple dribbles. His combination of size and handle in the open floor gave the defense fits at the prep level.

Porter has the length and athleticism to be an impact defender as long as he commits himself on that end of the floor. If he regains his athleticism, Porter could be a deterrent at the rim.

The 20-year-old said on social media this summer he could have averaged 30 points and 15 rebounds if he was healthy at Missouri last season. He might have been right.

Of course, that version of Porter was last seen around a year ago. He played three games for Missouri last season and looked like a shell of his former self. Porter said he’s pain-free following his second surgery, which is an encouraging sign.

Porter’s boasts ideal length if the Nuggets are looking for a long-term small forward alongside Murray and Harris, who are both listed at 6-foot-4. If Porter was to eventually return to full health, a core of Porter, Harris, Jokic, and Murray would certainly be one of the top four-man cores that the league has seen in recent memory. That quartet would be a healthy foundation to a championship-level roster.

Porter wants to get back on the floor as soon as possible. Just one year ago he was at the top of the basketball world. Now, he’s somewhat forgotten even when revisiting the draft from just three months ago. Any athlete in his position would be clamoring to return to the court.

However, all signs point towards Denver taking a conservative approach with Porter’s rehab. Perhaps Porter will take a token of advice from another Seattle product in Isaiah Thomas, who said he might have come back too early from a hip injury last season.

If he’s able to carve out a long and healthy career in Denver, Porter raises the Nuggets’ ceiling exponentially. But his ETA to Denver’s rotation is still to be determined.