Kroenke Dismisses 'False' Rumors That Nuggets Would Never Trade Michael Porter Jr.

After recent rumors about Michael Porter Jr. being untouchable in trade talks, Denver Nuggets president Josh Kroenke clarified that speculation was false.

He started by praising Porter, but he clarified that nobody is off the table if it means improving the team.

"If it wasn't such a serious accusation, I would probably laugh a little harder," he said. "But, first of all, I'm incredibly proud of Michael...But I think that any kind of report saying that we're not open to trading everybody possible to improve the team is completely false... I'm surely not going to be green-lighting any trades around here when I don't see complete organizational cohesion and we're not maximizing the group we got."

A report from NBA insider Jake Fischer earlier this week said that Kroenke has "a fondness for Porter that stems from deep ties to their shared alma mater: Missouri." Fischer added that sources "have maintained for some time that they struggled to envision ownership ever approving a deal that would send Porter away from the franchise."

While it's true that both Porter and Kroenke both attended Missouri, Porter played only three games with the Tigers because of a back injury that also cost him his entire rookie season.

If the time comes, it seems Kroenke would be fine with trading Porter, but it's unclear whether he'll be on the move any time soon.

Porter, in his sixth NBA season, put up some of the best numbers of his career. He averaged 18.2 points and seven boards on 50.4 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from deep. He also played 77 games, the second-most of his career.

Porter is contractually tied to Denver through the 2026-27 season.

Depending on how the playoffs go, the 2025 offseason could see a lot of changes within the Nuggets organization. The team has already fired head coach Michael Malone and will not extend general manager Calvin Booth's contract.

If Denver isn't able to make a deep playoff run, ownership could opt to make some changes to the roster either through the trade market or free agency.

Whether Porter would be apart of those potential changes remains to be seen.