Michael Porter Jr.

[lambchop]

if he cant get out of bed, that's much worse than IT

[916fan]

MPJ is such a boom or bust pick. There really is no in-between. You're either going to get a guy that's a star/superstar level first option on offense OR you're going to get a bust due to either a mismatch of style/skill (style of a 1st option, skill of a 3rd-4th option) or injuries.

I wouldn't touch him 1-6, maybe as far as 7, but once you get into that 7 or 8+ range a high risk pick makes a ton of sense.


EDIT: another thing I'd add is his age is a serious red flag when combined with not playing in college. You have a guy who'll turn 20 the week after the draft. He had a lot of extra physical maturity over his peers (he's incredibly old for his class) at lower levels and we have no way to evaluate how he'd do once that physical maturity advantage was removed [in college].

You must've missed it because there's a ton of older freshman in this year's class. Ayton, Bamba, Young, and some more.

[nolang1]

From my vantage point the Bulls are obviously locked in on him and he obviously wants to end up there. The Kings know this and are making noise about drafting him 2nd to see if the Bulls will trade up, so Porter's camp puts out some story about how his injury is maybe worse than expected.

[camillepd]

Any team in top 7 that takes him will regret it. Too many red flags. Stay away.

[clyde21]

If this injury is legit, one can imagine he's gonna get Harry Giles'd.

Possibly if it's that serious and the back/hip are two separate issues or injuries. Hard for us to say without seeing the medical reports or talking to those doctors.

I think it makes sense that a relatively safe GM would be the one to pull the trigger because of the possible reward but I don't see non-established GMs going that route.

Jerry West at 12 or 13 makes a lot of sense, but before that, i don't know now that I think about it. There are just too many good prospects in the top 10 to take a flier on MPJ if you're not sure about his injury.

Or really all of this could just be a smoke screen. We don't really know honestly.

[Rafael122]

If this injury is legit, one can imagine he's gonna get Harry Giles'd.

Possibly if it's that serious and the back/hip are two separate issues or injuries. Hard for us to say without seeing the medical reports or talking to those doctors.

I think it makes sense that a relatively safe GM would be the one to pull the trigger because of the possible reward but I don't see non-established GMs going that route.

Jerry West at 12 or 13 makes a lot of sense, but before that, i don't know now that I think about it. There are just too many good prospects in the top 10 to take a flier on MPJ if you're not sure about his injury.

Or really all of this could just be a smoke screen. We don't really know honestly.

I gotta think it's related. Otto Porter has had hip issues for awhile, he dealt with back pain earlier this year and missed the rest of the playoffs b/c of blood flow issues in his left leg, even though it was the right hip that gave him issues.

Ultimately I think Porter is trying to land in Chicago. They're the only team who has his medical info. The problem is the Bulls' medical staff has a bad reputation so his agent/father are doing Porter a disservice by trying to get him there.

[Mr B]

From my vantage point the Bulls are obviously locked in on him and he obviously wants to end up there. The Kings know this and are making noise about drafting him 2nd to see if the Bulls will trade up, so Porter's camp puts out some story about how his injury is maybe worse than expected.

He’s suck a bad fit next to Markkanen though. Assuming Porter is healthy they would be able to score but who is going to rebound and play defense?

[Mr B]

If this injury is legit, one can imagine he's gonna get Harry Giles'd.

Possibly if it's that serious and the back/hip are two separate issues or injuries. Hard for us to say without seeing the medical reports or talking to those doctors.

I think it makes sense that a relatively safe GM would be the one to pull the trigger because of the possible reward but I don't see non-established GMs going that route.

Jerry West at 12 or 13 makes a lot of sense, but before that, i don't know now that I think about it. There are just too many good prospects in the top 10 to take a flier on MPJ if you're not sure about his injury.

Or really all of this could just be a smoke screen. We don't really know honestly.

I gotta think it's related. Otto Porter has had hip issues for awhile, he dealt with back pain earlier this year and missed the rest of the playoffs b/c of blood flow issues in his left leg, even though it was the right hip that gave him issues.

Ultimately I think Porter is trying to land in Chicago. They're the only team who has his medical info. The problem is the Bulls' medical staff has a bad reputation so his agent/father are doing Porter a disservice by trying to get him there.

There is a local radio guy in Dallas that used to play pro baseball (Mike Bacsik) that was saying today that he had the exact same back surgery that Porter had. He said that the back was pinching on his sciatic nerve which caused severe pain in his hip and leg and at times his entire leg would go numb. He said he doesn’t know if Porter’s injury is the same but it sounds the same as what he had. He said it took him about 8-9 months after the surgery to feel right and that to this day he still has problems with it from time to time. Not that this means anything, just thought I’d share.

[The-Power]

From my vantage point the Bulls are obviously locked in on him and he obviously wants to end up there. The Kings know this and are making noise about drafting him 2nd to see if the Bulls will trade up, so Porter's camp puts out some story about how his injury is maybe worse than expected.

He’s suck a bad fit next to Markkanen though. Assuming Porter is healthy they would be able to score but who is going to rebound and play defense?

Porter is a good, and Lauri a decent rebounder for their position. Both are capable of playing solid defense, too, although we haven't really seen it consistently from Porter yet. Ideally, you have a rim protector next to them (this would require Porter to be able to play the 3, though) but in small-ball line-ups I believe they could definitely work together if Porter keeps his athleticism.

Not a perfect fit by any means but I've seen worse.

[codydaze]

From my vantage point the Bulls are obviously locked in on him and he obviously wants to end up there. The Kings know this and are making noise about drafting him 2nd to see if the Bulls will trade up, so Porter's camp puts out some story about how his injury is maybe worse than expected.

He’s suck a bad fit next to Markkanen though. Assuming Porter is healthy they would be able to score but who is going to rebound and play defense?

Porter is a good, and Lauri a decent rebounder for their position. Both are capable of playing solid defense, too, although we haven't really seen it consistently from Porter yet. Ideally, you have a rim protector next to them (this would require Porter to be able to play the 3, though) but in small-ball line-ups I believe they could definitely work together if Porter keeps his athleticism.

Not a perfect fit by any means but I've seen worse.

I agree, you'd hope MPJ could play the 3 and find a rim protector at the 5 but if all went well that would be a pretty potent offensive team with a whole lot of length.

[ForeverTFC]

From my vantage point the Bulls are obviously locked in on him and he obviously wants to end up there. The Kings know this and are making noise about drafting him 2nd to see if the Bulls will trade up, so Porter's camp puts out some story about how his injury is maybe worse than expected.

The fact that this is so obvious is what makes me think it may not actually be the case. But it's just so obvious.

[Stillwater]

From my vantage point the Bulls are obviously locked in on him and he obviously wants to end up there. The Kings know this and are making noise about drafting him 2nd to see if the Bulls will trade up, so Porter's camp puts out some story about how his injury is maybe worse than expected.

What you are suggesting does go along with the narrative that exists this time of year, but I'm inclined to think unless the "reasoning" for cancelling the workout where several interested teams between 2-6 would have been representing is a flat out lie by MPJ camp to ensure he drops to 7, then that's not what is happening in regards to his status,and he is just hurt. I find it unlikely he would intentionally position himself to be passed up by 6 teams because Chicago wants him on their roster, which also seems like bs given MPJ projects as a 4 in the league not a 3 and they have Markannen already.

[bartunik]

I just don't see it. In his footage he looks incredibly inflexible. Also he doesn't show a good handle. Also who does he defend.

[nolang1]

From my vantage point the Bulls are obviously locked in on him and he obviously wants to end up there. The Kings know this and are making noise about drafting him 2nd to see if the Bulls will trade up, so Porter's camp puts out some story about how his injury is maybe worse than expected.

What you are suggesting does go along with the narrative that exists this time of year, but I'm inclined to think unless the "reasoning" for cancelling the workout where several interested teams between 2-6 would have been representing is a flat out lie by MPJ camp to ensure he drops to 7, then that's not what is happening in regards to his status,and he is just hurt. I find it unlikely he would intentionally position himself to be passed up by 6 teams because Chicago wants him on their roster, which also seems like bs given MPJ projects as a 4 in the league not a 3 and they have Markannen already.

There's a difference between being interested and actually picking him, and it's not 6 teams that would be passing him up when Ayton and Doncic at least are almost certainly going ahead of him. Not a big enough difference at that point that couldn't be made up by more endorsement money in Chicago than Memphis or wherever, and the way the league is going those two players would be playing 4/5 more often than 3/4.

[EvanZ]

I just don't see it. In his footage he looks incredibly inflexible. Also he doesn't show a good handle. Also who does he defend.

He's probably a 4 tbh.

[GimmeDat]

I'll eat a shoe if MPJ is more effective at the 3 than 4.

[Tomjas]

MPJ is such a boom or bust pick. There really is no in-between. You're either going to get a guy that's a star/superstar level first option on offense OR you're going to get a bust due to either a mismatch of style/skill (style of a 1st option, skill of a 3rd-4th option) or injuries.

I wouldn't touch him 1-6, maybe as far as 7, but once you get into that 7 or 8+ range a high risk pick makes a ton of sense.


EDIT: another thing I'd add is his age is a serious red flag when combined with not playing in college. You have a guy who'll turn 20 the week after the draft. He had a lot of extra physical maturity over his peers (he's incredibly old for his class) at lower levels and we have no way to evaluate how he'd do once that physical maturity advantage was removed [in college].

I'm no expert but that's my feeling as well

Too many red flags for mine

College age with HS experience

Long term injury that may not have fully healed

Some of the statements/actions from his camp are a worry

If I was a GM and faced between a choice between Porter and a guy with somewhat comparable talent, I'm going with the other guy

[Stillwater]

Well now that his medicals have been released to all teams and the apparent outlook is positive with only minor longevity concerns seeming to be in play, I think we can discount the idea of him falling out of the top 10

[The-Power]

I'll eat a shoe if MPJ is more effective at the 3 than 4.

Agreed. I think he'll be able to play some 3 – especially at the beginning of his career – but will ultimately be most effective at the 4. Similar to Barnes, actually, who can play the 3 some but is ultimately most effective when playing the 4. I see Porter as a hybrid who play the 3 to start games (and to start his career) but who switches over to the 4 in order to maximize his skill set. If his injury affected his athleticism, however, he might turn out to be a full-time 4 immediately as his lateral quickness and hip flexibility was somewhat a question mark already.

[No-Man]

Barnes is not a bad approx for Porter's median outcome, Barnes has different strenghts esp on D (post-defense and sturdier, whereas MPJ can be more of a help/weakside defender) but still, solid

I really like Porter is he sticks to a role and obviously health permitting, he can be so dynamic as a 4 that just spaces out, gets used similarly to PG at times coming out of screens and curls, attacks close-outs, plays in transition, and can be a PnP and PnR threat, even run some actions in the right setting, obviously Cleveland if LeBron returns is the best fit, if not, I'd say Dallas and Memphis are the other 2, I don't think he gets to 10th cause Philly would be a good one too.

The worst ones are probably Orlando and Sacramento, Chicago is pretty bad too imo