Realistic star trade targets for the Chicago Bulls this summer: Michael Porter Jr.
There’s a connection dating back to the 2018 NBA Draft between Karnisovas and the Denver Nuggets rising star forward Michael Porter Jr. It was Karnisovas and the Nuggets at the time that took a filer out on the former Mizzou Tigers star and also a No. 1 ranked high school prospect in the nation in MPJ at the end of the 2018 draft lottery.
It took a lot of faith and patience for the Nuggets to take the once injury-prone 6-foot-10 and 220-pound 22-year-old small forward has turned into a real stud in the Mile High City. MPJ put up the type of numbers this season that makes him a borderline All-Star. And with the way he played around the eventual MVP winner in superstar big man Nikola Jokic, MPJ’s star should only continue to rise.
He averaged roughly 19 points per game, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. And he shot 54 percent from the field, 45 percent from beyond the arc, and 79 percent from the free-throw line.
That is if the Nuggets don’t wind up planning on trading MPJ this offseason before the final year of his rookie contract runs up. There is going to be a large price to tag to pay to re-sign MPJ out of restricted free agency or to hand him a contract extension this summer if he’s able to stay healthy from here on out.
When MPJ is able to stay healthy, he really shows what he can do. He still has star/superstar potential if he stays healthy for the next few seasons. There was a time when the Bulls passed on him in the draft for Wendell Carter Jr., but they could make up for that possibly this offseason.