When former Missouri star and top overall recruit Michael Porter Jr. fell to the Denver Nuggets with the 14th overall pick in last month’s draft, it was a pretty dramatic fall for the teenager.
Obviously, Porter’s back injury and the herniated disks he suffered through at Missouri played a major role in the forward’s fall outside of the top 10.
Now comes this report indicating that Porter had yet another surgery on his back as recent as last week.
F Michael Porter Jr., who slid to Denver at No. 14 in NBA Draft due to ongoing back issues, had another surgery last week. His camp believes latest procedure = breakthrough grasp of his herniated-disks problem. Not their plan to have him sit out 2018-19 season.
— Steve Aschburner (@AschNBA) July 18, 2018
While the Nuggets hope that this will help Porter overcome his back issues, that’s in no way a guarantee. It also lends even more credence to the idea that Denver will redshirt Porter as a rookie this coming season. It was noted ahead of the 2018 NBA Draft that teams were looking at that possibility.
After just missing out on the playoffs last season, Denver had the ability to take a chance on Porter. There’s no reason for the team to rush him back at the potential cost of his ability to contribute over the long term.