The Brooklyn Nets have the third-worst record in the league, and now their leading scorer is likely to miss the rest of the season.
The team announced that Michael Porter Jr. has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain and will be reevaluated in three weeks.
Three weeks from the announcement, just before the final weekend of the season. There’s no way the underperforming Nets are going to force Porter Jr. to come back and play one or two meaningless games at the end of the season.
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Porter Jr. took on a larger scoring role in Brooklyn and had the best season of his career. He averaged a career-high 24.2 points per game, plus 7.1 rebounds, and shot 36.3% from beyond the arc. He leads Brooklyn in points and is tied for the team lead in rebounds.
Porter Jr. has missed the Nets’ past four games with a sprained ankle. In games he has missed this season, the Nets are 3-14.
Brooklyn is “in the running” for the league’s worst record (with Sacramento, Washington and Indiana), and the winner of that game has the best lottery odds in what is considered an incredibly deep draft. Brooklyn is heading into the draft looking for a foundational star player they can build around.
Whether Porter Jr., 27, belongs in that future remains to be seen. He’s guaranteed $40.8 million next season, and the Nets could try to trade him and his expiring contract for young players or draft picks. However, he has integrated into the Nets, and since he is eligible for an extension this offseason, Brooklyn may explore that with him.