Michael Porter Jr. Blames Nuggets Trade for Early Playoffs Exit

It’s no secret that many players despise being traded, especially if they go to teams that aren’t anywhere near postseason contention.

The Brooklyn Nets fall into that category, and that’s where the Denver Nuggets sent one of their key contributors, Michael Porter Jr., to play this past season. Porter Jr. spent the first six seasons of his career playing alongside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, helping them win the 2023 NBA Championship.

And this past season, he instantly became his new team’s top star as they finished third-from-last in the Eastern Conference with a 20-62 record. However, Porter Jr. recently witnessed his former team’s collapse in the first round of this year’s postseason and believes he knows exactly why it happened.

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Despite it being a road game at Minnesota, Denver had a shot to stave off elimination on Thursday evening with Timberwolves starters Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo out of the lineup. Ayo Dosunmu, a playoff hero for Minnesota in Game 5, was also out with an injury.

However, Jaden McDaniels stepped up with a 32-point and 10-rebound performance, while Terrence Shannon Jr. added 24 in the win. Julius Randle also scored 18, with Naz Reid contributing 15 off the bench in a solid effort by Minnesota at home.

After the loss, which sent the Nuggets home after the first round, Nikola Jokic claimed they needed to rebound better and catch the ball better. They were without Aaron Gordon, due to injury, and seemingly needed another player to help beyond just Jokic.

Porter Jr. appeared on popular internet streamer N3ON’s recent video and shared his true feelings about being traded from Denver to Brooklyn.

He shared with N3ON that he had a “crazy injury” and could barely lift his arm during last year’s playoffs with the Nuggets. According to Porter Jr., that’s why he couldn’t perform at his best due to the injury.

“I think I got traded because of the fact I couldn’t perform at my best last year in the playoffs,” he suggested. “My whole shoulder was popped out. Every time I would shoot, it would pop.”

“I tried to tough it out or whatever, but it backfired,” Porter Jr. said.

During the stream, N3ON said his chat asked if the Nuggets would’ve won their series against Minnesota if Porter Jr. was still on the roster.

“Yes,” Porter Jr. said with confidence. “Shouldn’t have traded me, man.”

“But honestly, I’m living my best life in Brooklyn. Even though we didn’t do well this year, I see the future. We’re the youngest team in the league. We got a lot of money to spend,” he said, adding, “I think we’ll go get a really good player in the draft as well.”

Could Porter Jr. be on the rise with a new contender after leaving the Nuggets? That could take some time, but they do have a chance at a high pick in this June’s NBA Draft.

According to ESPN, they could land at No. 3 in the draft order, giving them Duke power forward Cam Boozer to further improve the roster. They also have a strong chance to get the No. 1 pick, which could mean a standout like BYU’s AJ Dybantsa.

Meanwhile, a joke N3ON made to Porter Jr. didn’t seem to go unnoticed, as he suggested the Houston Rockets could add him to the roster to team up with Kevin Durant. Porter Jr. seemed to nonchalantly agree with that idea, suggesting he might be living a better life in Houston with KD and the Rockets.

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This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 5:24 PM.