The Brooklyn Nets acquired forward Michael Porter Jr. from the Denver Nuggets via trade during the offseason. The Nets received the 2023 champion in exchange for Cameron Johnson. They also received an unprotected 2032 first-round pick from the Nuggets. With Porter, the team is expecting him to play an integral role in how they will build a competitive team for the future.
Porter has demonstrated his ability to be dependable and to raise his level of play. Before the Nuggets won the championship, he was highly criticized for not being a great defender, despite being 6-foot-10. During the 2022-23 season, the forward worked on becoming a better defender, which helped the team win the title that season.
He has, however, also sustained a number of injuries that have prevented him from being a reliable member of his squad. Porter missed his supposed first season due to a back injury. The 27-year-old striker has since sustained injuries to his shoulders, knees, and back.
On Wednesday, the Brooklyn Nets had their Media Day, and Porter addressed a few questions. During his time with the media, he hinted at his retirement, which could potentially happen sooner than expected, due to the injuries he’s had.
“Because of the injuries and stuff, I don’t know how much longer I really want to play,” he said. “Like, I want to play as long as I can. But people don’t understand the things I’ve got to go through on a daily basis—just to get out on the court and play with the best athletes in the world.”
“I decided: all I’m going to do is take it a year at a time. So I’m committed to basketball and putting my all into it for the next year. And then after that, I’m gonna reevaluate.”
Since he is still young, Porter has a wide range of employment options. However, the decision to retire is upon him, and how his body responds moving forward.
Cam Thomas explains his decision to accept the qualifying offer from the Brooklyn Nets
During the offseason, there was quite a stalemate between the Brooklyn Nets and Cam Thomas. The young guard was a free agent and wanted to have a deal with at least $40 million per season. However, the Nets do not wish to include him in their long-term plans.
The contract situation ended with Thomas accepting the $6 million qualification offer from the Nets. The 23-year-old guard discussed why he accepted the offer at their media day.
“Yeah, I just, I’d rather control my situation as a player. That’s the type of control you want in your situation. So I just wanted to keep that aspect of it. And I mean, that doesn’t really matter what the conversations were,” Thomas said.
Cam Thomas on his decision to accept his qualifying offer:
“I’d rather control my situation. As a player, that’s what you want… I’m just here to play my game and keep doing what I was doing. Really just enjoying my 5th year with the team that drafted me… We’ll see what… pic.twitter.com/GfluA27DH8
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) September 23, 2025
Thomas said that he’s focused on playing his fifth year in Brooklyn.
“I’m just gonna finish the year, and we’ll see what happens. But I’m happy to be here, happy to play in front of fans again. I love playing here, so I can’t wait to get started.”
For more sports content:
Follow me on X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at reignkarlmarcamurao@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
