NEW YORK (AP) — Forward Michael Porter Jr. has agreed to a five-year maximum extension with the Denver Nuggets that could be worth up to $207 million. His agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed the deal to The Associated Press.
Porter’s agreement would be worth at least $173 million over five years and could rise to the supermax level of $207 million over that span if he reaches certain criteria this season.
He’s assured of making at least $29.8 million in 2022-23, a figure that would rise if he qualified for more by being voted onto an All-NBA team or winning the league’s MVP award this season.
Elsewhere in the NBA:
— Giannis Antetokounmpo says he feels fine as he prepares for the Milwaukee Bucks’ title defense but will be careful with the left knee that he hyperextended during the championship run. Antetokounmpo missed the final two games of the Eastern Conference finals after hurting his knee but returned to earn MVP honors in the NBA Finals. He scored 50 points in a title-clinching Game 6 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
– Unable to attend the Brooklyn Nets’ media day, Kyrie Irving asked for privacy when pressed about his vaccination status and availability for home games. The All-Star guard spoke via Zoom through a monitor set up in the interview room at Barclays Center. If a player is not vaccinated, he would be forced to sit out the Nets’ home games. Irving says his status will be cleared up at a later date.
— The Minnesota Timberwolves are familiar with change. They’re undergoing plenty of it with training camp about to start. The biggest shakeup came last week when president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas was fired. Star center Karl-Anthony Towns says he had just joked the day before the dismissal about the offseason being strangely quiet until then. There’s also an ownership transfer taking place from Glen Taylor to partners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez. The $1.5 billion sale is scheduled to be completed in two years, when Lore and Rodriguez will become majority owners.
