Michael Porter Jr.’s breakout may have changed everything for the Nuggets ahead of the trade deadline

Porter had a huge game on Thursday.

For a second straight season, the Denver Nuggets are in the mix at the top of the Western Conference. As of Friday morning, after their latest win over the Indiana Pacers, they’re second in the West, three games behind the Lakers.

That latest victory was thanks, in part, to Michael Porter Jr., who scored a career-high 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting off the bench.

That’s the second big game in his past three contests — he went 8-for-10 for 19 points against the Sacramento Kings last month — for the Missouri product who the Nuggets took 14th overall in the 2018 draft, a steal of a pick with other teams worried about the forward’s back injuries and surgeries.

Look at what he can do:

He’s GOOD. Dude can go inside with his 6-foot-10 frame or shoot from the outside, the kind of stretch four NBA teams covet in 2020.

You have to assume the Nuggets are going to continue to continue to give him opportunities to shine, and that’s when it gets interesting with February fast approaching.

It seemed obvious that Denver would be in the mix at the trade deadline to acquire an upgrade — Kevin Love? Former Nugget Danilo Gallinari? Tristan Thompson? — to help them in the playoffs. I’d venture to say opposing general managers probably would have started with an asking price of Porter as the headlining prospect. Now? If you’re the Nuggets, you may have already made your acquisition … and if there was no way you were trading Porter before, now it’s out of the question.

When Porter plays significant minutes — a small sample size, but still — he scores. The defense will hopefully get there down the road. And although Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said it was “another glimpse into a very bright future,” you have to think the front office might not want to acquire the same kind of off-the-bench scorer to block Porter minutes (plus, a deal might dismantle what’s been a really sparkling rotation).

Obviously, this is all speculation. Maybe the Nuggets don’t want to thrust him into a bigger role too soon and feel that they need one more name to beat Bron and the Brow or Kawhi and PG in a very tight West.

At least they know that they have quite an asset that could both pay off now and in the future.

[jwplayer OczdvXun-q2aasYxh]