Porter, whom the Nets traded for Cameron Johnson, expressed excitement to "expand his game" in Brooklyn, but assumed he was staying with the Nuggets after conversations with Jonathan Wallace, the franchise's newly-appointed executive vice president of player personnel .

Michael Porter Jr. was a key part of the Denver Nuggets core and many fans had grown to love him over the years, despite some of his struggles. Porter was traded from the Nuggets to the Brooklyn Nets at the start of the free agency period.