2 for 1! Nuggets send away Porter! Even houses can be exchanged

Let’s first look at a comparison of data: Michael Porter Jr. will have a salary of $38.3 million next season, and four new players from the Nuggets: Cameron Johnson, Valanciunas, Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown. The total salary next season is only $37 million. In this offseason, the Nuggets gave Porter Jr. and a first round to the Nets in exchange for Johnson.

This draft pick is the Nuggets' first round pick in 2032 and is completely unprotected. After the transaction was completed, Porter Jr. said in an interview: "Cameron and I are good brothers. We usually get along well and are currently discussing exchanging houses. He may live in my apartment in Denver, and I may go live in his house in Brooklyn, New York." In 2021, Porter Jr. spent $4.53 million to buy a luxury apartment in Denver, which overlooks the city and the panoramic view of the Rockies. Cameron Johnson's property information in New York was not found, but he only knew that it was very close to the Nets' Training Hall. Coincidentally, after Lillard joined the Bucks, he also lived in Holiday's house.

In an interview yesterday, Lillard said: "I rented Holiday's house for two years in Milwaukee, so we often chat. There is a video online. Holiday played for the Celtics, and we chatted together after the game. People were surprised at that time. In fact, we were just talking about the problem with his Wi-Fi."

Many fans joked that NBA stars with annual salary of tens of millions of dollars do not have stable Wi-Fi at home? Let’s talk about the house issue, when Durant joined the Nets in 2019, he lived with Dinwiddie’s house for a short time. In February 2022, Nance Jr. was sent to New Orleans and Josh Hart was sent to Portland, and the two also swapped houses.

Since it has been traded, why not sell or rent out the house? These luxury houses often cost millions of dollars, and if sold, they will have to pay a large amount of agency fees and taxes. If you rent it to a stranger, you are not at ease. Swapping houses is the easiest way to deal with them. Two people trust each other and can save a rent in a strange city.

Finally, I returned to the Nuggets' 2-for-1 deal, Porter Jr. vs. Cameron Johnson, why did he still pay a first-round pick? Porter Jr.'s contract is $173 million for five years and expires in the summer of 2027, with $79.14 million left for two years. Cameron Johnson's contract is $108 million for four years and $43 million for two years.

This year's playoffs, Porter Jr. averaged 31.1 minutes per game, scoring only 9.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.9 turnovers, with three shooting percentages: 39.2%, 34.3%, 71.4%. The average score per game dropped by half compared to the regular season (18.2). If the Nuggets don’t trade Porter Jr., they may not be able to sit down if they ask the teacher.

Cameron Johnson last played in the playoffs in 2023, averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, with three shooting percentages: 50.9%, 42.9%, and 85.7%. In the 2024-25 regular season, Johnson averaged 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.7 turnovers, with three shooting percentages: 47.5%, 39%, 89.3%.

Who do you think made the profit for this transaction?