In his Bleacher Report podcast, Jake Fischer adds the Detroit Pistons to the spate of teams who might be interested in trading for Michael Porter Jr., assuming that the Nets are interested in moving their leading scorer something Fischer himself suggested might not be the case…
Here’s what the People’s Insider said…
I think Michael Porter Jr. makes total sense in Detroit. I have not been told yet that Detroit has called on Michael Porter Jr., but I have been told that they have at least discussed him
internally and I think that makes a ton of sense because, as good as the Pistons are leading the Eastern Conference wire-to-wire here, they do not have a bona fide second scorer behind Cade Cunningham, and Michael Porter Jr. could be that guy. He is not an Anthony Davis or a Lauri Markkanen, who is going to cost you an arm and a leg in years of draft capital and also be on the books for 50, 60 million dollars moving forward. He’s only at 38 right now, and I don’t think he’s in a position to be commanding 50, 60 million going forward.
Indeed, Fischer is not alone. ESPN, Clutch Points, the Athletic and the Detroit Free Press have all suggested some form of an MPJ-to-Detroit scenario, with more than one proposing a trade of Porter for the expiring contract ($26.3 million) of the 33-year-old Tobias Harris, the restricted free agent deal ($10.1 million) of 23-year-old Jaden Ivey and draft assets: at least one first round pick. likely the Pistons first this year, with either a second first or a second rounder added. The Pistons have all their firsts going forward.
Of all the recent rumors, such a deal would be the cleanest: two expiring deals and draft capital for Porter. No third team needed. No aprons to worry about. Moreover, Trajan Langdon, the Piston GM, worked as Marks’ No. 2 early in his first rebuild .
But most of the buzz is about how MPJ would be a great fit alongside Cade Cunningham but not much about why such a deal would be attractive to Brooklyn. Without that second first rounder and maybe even with it, the trade seems unbalanced. Any Pistons first over the next few years is likely to be low. Currently, their 2026 pick is No. 29.
The Nets wouldn’t get any good young player either. Ivey will be a restricted free agent come July and has dropped in the Pistons rotation. He’s playing a career low 16.9 minutes this season, starting only two games. His production over the course of his four years in Detroit has dropped from 16.3 points a game in his rookie year to 8.3 this season. He’s also been injury-prone and may not fit with the Nets future considering how many young guards they already have.
Beyond the Pistons talk, the Nets — as Fischer, Marc Stein, Mike Scotto and Brett Siegel all report — seem to be uncertain about moving the 27-year-old with more than one of them suggesting that the Nets want to make big moves this summer and that MPJ could be part of the future.
Meanwhile, MPJ and the rest of the Nets are in New Orleans for Wednesday’s game vs. the Pelicans. On Tuesday night, he and assistant coach Connor Griffin took in the Pelicans – Nuggets game and renewing acquaintances with Denver’s Peyton Watson, the 6’8”, 23-year-old shooting guard who’s the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week. He had 31 points, five assists and seven boards in the Denver win. The reunion was warm. MPJ watched the whole game then embraced the future free agent…
Is one reason that the Nets may keep Porter is his ability to attract players to Brooklyn? Stay tuned for more on that and everything else. The deadline is now three weeks away.
