Jordi Fernandez reveals what Michael Porter Jr. will bring to Nets
After seven seasons with the Denver Nuggets, Michael Porter Jr. is embracing a new opportunity with the Brooklyn Nets. The change of scenery reunites him with a familiar face in Jordi Fernandez. The Nets head coach revealed what the 6-foot-10 forward will bring to the table.
Advertisement
'Mike brings positional size, rebounding, and a lot of scoring in different ways,' Fernandez said on the ESPN broadcast of Brooklyn's first Summer League game. 'Obviously, I had been with Mike in Denver for five of my six years, and it's exciting to have him back. Using the word veteran, don't forget that Mike is 27 years old and he'll be the oldest guy on our roster. The next guy I think will be Nic Claxton at 25. So that tells you how young we are and how much we can grow as a group. These guys are ready to work and compete.'
Porter Jr. joined the Nets alongside an unprotected 2032 Nuggets first-round pick in a trade for Cam Johnson. The 27-year-old recently said that he felt his ceiling had 'plateaued' in Denver, and he is excited for what the future holds with Brooklyn.
Michael Porter Jr. reunited with Jordi Fernandez following trade to Nets
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Porter Jr. averaged 17.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists on 49/40/78 shooting splits over his last three seasons. However, he was limited to a complimentary role alongside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
Advertisement
The 27-year-old should have ample opportunity to expand his offensive game with the Nets, who are in the early stages of a rebuild. Outside of Cam Thomas, who remains unsigned in restricted free agency, Brooklyn's most proven commodities are Nic Claxton and Terance Mann. Neither is known as a high-level shot-creator.
As Fernandez noted, Porter Jr. enters the mix as one of Brooklyn's lone veterans. Cam Johnson emerged as the most respected voice in the Nets' locker room last season. Porter Jr.'s ability to replace that leadership will be critical for a team featuring an NBA-record five rookie first-round picks.
Related: 6 Kevin Durant decisions that tarnished his legacy, ranked
Related: Nuggets' Cam Johnson reflects on Nets tenure during emotional goodbye
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
11 minutes ago
- Newsweek
LeBron James Sends Message to Cavaliers Executive Amid Trade Speculation
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Though he's currently a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, that didn't stop LeBron James from giving a shoutout to one member of the Cleveland Cavaliers front office on social media. On Monday, ESPN NBA insider shams Charania posted on X that the Cavaliers had extended the contracts of president Koby Altman, general manager Mike Gansey, and assistant general manager Brandon Weems. The post caught James' attention, and he promptly replied to Charania's post with a quote tweet congratulating Weems on his new deal. "YESSIR!!! Congratulations to my brother Super proud of u man 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙏🏾🤎," James wrote on X. YESSIR!!! Congratulations to my brother Super proud of u man 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙏🏾🤎 — LeBron James (@KingJames) July 14, 2025 More NBA: Mavericks Make Controversial Cooper Flagg Decision After Spurs Game Though James' ties to the Cavaliers—a team he played for from 2003 to 2010, and again from 2014 to 2018—appear to be a thing of the past, he is still close with Weems, who Forbes' Evan Sidery pointed out is a close friend of the 21-time All-Star. "For those wondering, Brandon Weems was LeBron James' high school teammate at St. Vincent-St. Mary," Sidery wrote. "Weems was hired by Cleveland a year after LeBron's original return in 2014 and became Assistant GM in 2022." The timing of James' social media post is sure to have people talking as it was reported by NBA insider Scoop Robinson that the Cavaliers are one of four teams that reached out to James' agent Rich Paul about their interest in trading for him. Hoops Wire also reported that Cleveland is interested in reuniting with James if he and the Lakers agree to a buyout this summer. LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers in action against the New Orleans Pelicans at Arena on April 04, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers in action against the New Orleans Pelicans at Arena on April 04, 2025 in Los Angeles, NBA/WNBA: Caitlin Clark Makes WNBA History Against Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings The Cavaliers are coming off one of the best seasons the franchise has ever had, winning 64 games — the second-most in franchise history — along with clinching the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and earning just the eighth division title the team has ever won. After dispatching of James' former team, the Miami Heat, in Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs, they fell 4-1 to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinal round. The Pacers fell in seven games to the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Under Altman, Gansey and Weems' leadership, the Cavaliers drafted two of their top players in two-time All-Star point guard Darius Garland and 2025 Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley—both with top-five draft picks—plus traded for six-time All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, who led the team in scoring during the regular season (24 points per game) and postseason (29.6 ppg).
Wall Street Journal
15 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Baseball Comes Cap in Hand to Atlanta
Major League Baseball is implicitly making amends to Atlanta with Tuesday's All-Star Game after moving the 2021 game in protest of Georgia election reforms. It's about time. In 2021 Georgia passed the Election Integrity Act, a package of common-sense measures to improve the voting process. The act expanded in-person early voting and codified the use of drop boxes for absentee ballots while limiting their number and establishing security rules. It shortened the absentee-ballot request period from six months to 11 weeks. It maintained the 29-day voter-registration period before an election—the amount of time before an election that voters must be registered to vote—the same or longer than 12 other states. It allowed people to bring food and water with them to their polling stations and take water from unattended receptacles. It set clear requirements for identification. It banned 'ballot harvesting,' in which people other than the voters themselves gather and submit absentee or mail-in ballots.
New York Times
16 minutes ago
- New York Times
Sale of Rays expected to be final by September, team likely to stay in Tampa area: Source
ATLANTA — The sale of the Tampa Bay Rays from current owner Stu Sternberg to a group led by Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski for about $1.7 billion has been agreed to in principle and is expected to be completed as soon as September, a person briefed on the process who was not authorized to speak publicly told The Athletic on Monday. Advertisement Zalupski is expected to keep the team in the Tampa Bay area, with a strong preference to be in Tampa rather than St. Petersburg, the source said. Sternberg bought the team for $200 million in 2004. Neither the Rays nor Zalpuski's group could immediately be reached for comment. Sportico reported in June that Zalupski's group was in advanced talks to buy the team and had signed a letter of intent. The Rays last month said in a statement that they were in exclusive talks with Zalupski's group, which includes Bill Cosgrove and Ken Babby. Zalupski is the founder of Dream Finders Homes, while Cosgrove runs Ohio-based Union Home Mortgage. Babby owns a pair of minor-league teams, the Akron RubberDucks and the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. As of last month, other bidders were still hopeful of landing the team, including a group led by Memphis hedge fund founder Trip Miller. The sale could hasten a conclusion to the Rays' long-running search for a new stadium. For two decades, Sternberg has tried to find a new home for the Rays other than Tropicana Field, which was built in 1990. But several iterations fell through, including a unique plan that would have had the team split time between Florida and Montreal. This spring, The Athletic reported that Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred and some owners were pressing Sternberg to sell. Sternberg's most recent plan, to build a new stadium in St. Petersburg where the team currently plays, was derailed after Hurricane Milton ravaged the area in the fall. The hurricane significantly damaged Tropicana Field, forcing the Rays to play this regular season at Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees' spring training facility and home of the minor league Tampa Tarpons. A fight over public funding for a new stadium also ensued, and an agreed-upon $1.3 billion deal to build a new park in St. Petersburg went by the wayside this spring. Advertisement Manfred said last month he was hopeful that the Rays could return to Tropicana Field for the 2026 season. 'The repair of the stadium is moving along,' Manfred said at the time. 'We remain optimistic that we will be ready either for Opening Day or very shortly thereafter. Obviously, the big contingency is what happens with hurricane season, right? There's not much you can do about that, other than keep your fingers crossed. But we are hopeful that we'll get it ready for Opening Day '26.'
