A Brooklyn Nets team with the third-worst record in the NBA will now be without its leading scorer, likely for the remainder of the season.
Michael Porter Jr. has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated in three weeks, the team announced.
Three weeks from the day this was announced would fall just before the final weekend of the season. There is no chance the tanking Nets are pushing Porter Jr. to return for what will be a meaningless game or two at the end of the season.
Porter Jr. was thrust into a larger scoring role in Brooklyn and responded with the best season of his career. He has averaged a career high 24.2 points per game, plus 7.1 rebounds a night while shooting 36.3% from beyond the arc. He led Brooklyn in scoring and was tied for the team lead in rebounds.
Porter Jr. had missed the last four Nets games with a sprained ankle. The Nets have gone 3-14 in games he has missed this season.
Brooklyn is in a “race” for the league’s worst record (with Sacramento, Washington, and Indiana), and the winner of that race gets the best lottery odds in what is considered an incredibly deep draft. Brooklyn heads into that draft looking for a foundational star player they can build around.
Whether Porter Jr., 27, is part of that future remains to be seen. He has a guaranteed $40.8 million owed him next season, and the Nets may try to trade him and his expiring contract for young players or draft picks. However, he has fit in with the Nets, and, as he is extension-eligible this offseason, Brooklyn may explore that with him.
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