Nets' Michael Porter Jr. ranked 15th-best small forward this season

Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. has had a busy summer to this point as he is preparing for the upcoming NBA season while addressing whether his future will be with the Nets. Brooklyn and Porter seem like they want to continue their partnership beyond this season, but with Porter being eligible for a contract extension, it's important to note how highly he is regarded at his position.

"Porter Jr.'s current contract only runs through next season, so he'll be trying his hardest to prove he can be a top option for a team as he seeks his next big payday," Frank Urbina wrote on Porter for HoopsHype. Urbina and HoopsHype ranked the top-27 small forwards heading into this NBA campaign and Porter placed 15th on the list despite the fact that the Nets are expected to struggle once again.

"Either way, Porter Jr. has won a championship as a role player before, too; it's just that role players don't get paid as much as stars, so the Missouri product will surely be looking to prove the 2025-26 version of himself was not a fluke," Urbina continued on Porter. "Porter Jr. ranked in the Top 30 league-wide in BPM in 2025-26 thanks to his ability to shoot and hit ridiculous jumpers in his massive 6-foot-10 frame, so his production was impactful, even if his Brooklyn Nets were one of the worst teams in the league."

Porter, 28 , is coming off the best season of his season as he averaged 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 46.3% from the field and 36.3% from behind the three-point line. As Urbina pointed out, Porter and the Nets have not agreed to an extension yet, but they have until the end of this season to extend his contract for the foreseeable future.

What will be interesting to see given how Porter is viewed around the NBA is if the Nets will risk keeping him on the roster past the February trade deadline and potentially lose him for nothing next summer. Brooklyn's training camp begins at the end of this month so the organization and Porter still have some time to formally extend this partnership. If not, plenty of teams could be calling for Porter's services before the trade deadline passes.