Nets’ Michael Porter Jr. reacts to David Adelman claiming he would disagree with how Nuggets used him

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Nets’ Michael Porter Jr. reacts to David Adelman claiming he would disagree with how Nuggets used him

Erik Slater, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Mon, Jan 5, 2026 ·

5 min read

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Nets' Michael Porter Jr. reacts to David Adelman claiming he would disagree with how Nuggets used him appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

Michael Porter Jr . is spreading his wings as an NBA centerpiece. Following years in a complementary role with the Denver Nuggets , Porter Jr. has emerged as an All-Star candidate following his trade to the Brooklyn Nets .

Despite this, Nuggets head coach David Adelman has no regrets about how the team used the forward during his tenure.

"[Mike's] had a lot of freedom here. I think this trade was good for everybody," Adelman said ahead of Sunday's Nets-Nuggets matchup. "I think anytime you win the whole thing, the role was appropriate. We know how talented he is… Mike had this ability; he always has. But for us, he sacrificed. Our two-man game has been successful. And him in the corner with Aaron Gordon in the dunker was quite a thing. I thought we used him the right way. I'm sure he would disagree with me completely, which is ok. But we won a lot of games doing it that way. So it's cool to see him have some more freedom here under Jordi [Fernandez]. It's fun to watch."

Porter Jr. primarily served as a spot-up shooter across his six seasons alongside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in Denver. The 6-foot-10 sharpshooter was efficient in the role, averaging 17.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists on 49/40/78 shooting splits over his last three seasons.

Michael Porter Jr. opens up on Nuggets tenure amid breakout season with Nets

However, Porter Jr. has showcased the full range of his offensive skill set as the Nets' lead option, averaging 25.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists on .495/.408/.825 shooting splits. He, Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the NBA's only players averaging those marks on such efficiency this season.

While Porter Jr. was content to play a limited role for a championship team in Denver, he always knew he was capable of much more.

"I think whenever you have a team that talented, a championship-caliber team, there's going to be guys that sacrifice," Porter Jr. said. "Some of the shots and some of the ways they probably could have used me, we had enough good players to where we could create a good shot in a different way. I didn't need to come off of a screen and be high usage in that way and shoot some of the tough shots that I'm shooting here, which I can make, but over there those may not be considered the most highest percentage compared to what we could get. So, that's with every good team.

"But it is good to be able to kind of show what I'm capable of and kind of get some of the recognition. It's tough as a player when you know what you can do and you are asked to do something different and then people criticize you for it. That can be tough. But it's part of the NBA, it's part of being adaptable, and it's part of being on a really good team for a lot of years. You just got to accept your role and do what the coach asks in whatever situation you're in."

Porter Jr. continued his All-Star-caliber campaign on Sunday by taking down his former team at Barclays Center. He posted 27 points, 11 rebounds and five assists on 8-of-17 shooting during the Nets' 127-115 win over the Nuggets, who were without Jokic, Cam Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas.

"I was excited for that first matchup against them. Really, since I've been traded and just how that whole thing kind of went down, I was looking forward to playing against those guys, for sure. It's been circled on my calendar for a minute," Porter Jr. said. "I probably felt a little bit more nervous for this one than uh than a lot of other games… It was definitely an odd experience. Jamal mentioned it before the tip-off, like it's so weird actually going against you instead of being with you. Because those are my brothers. I was with those guys for so many years. I was with those guys more than I was with my family every single day.

"We won a championship together. A few of those guys over there are some of my best friends. So to compete against each other instead of with each other is definitely a different experience, but it's the nature of the sport. And it's cool that you can have friendships outside of basketball as well, because those are still my guys."

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