Artūras Karnišovas, Chicago Bulls
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Chicago Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas speaks with reporters at media day.
The Chicago Bulls had an opportunity to trade for an NBA champion, who previously suggested he wanted to land with them. NBA.com’s Sam Smith believes the Denver Nuggets “were trying to trade” forward Michael Porter Jr. to the Bulls last offseason.
The Bulls, however, decided against the move, an outcome Smith supported while questioning his fit in Chicago.
In addition to a high salary, Smith believes Porter is far too injury-prone to invest in.
“Porter seems much too fragile even without counting his shoulder issues in these playoffs, which he did try to play through to his credit. But he makes maximum money of about $40 million these next two seasons and I’m pretty sure they were trying to trade him to the Bulls for Zach LaVine this season. He’s one of those way overpaid guys given his game, which is limited to excellent shooting for a big man,” Smith wrote on May 23.
“He’s poor with the ball, doesn’t handle or pass well and I’d stay away from him, which the Bulls apparently did last February.”
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Instead, LaVine went to the Sacramento Kings in a three-team deal with the San Antonio Spurs.
Porter, the No. 14 overall pick in the 2018 draft, is heading into his age-27 season. He averaged 18.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting 39.5% from beyond the arc during the 2024-25 season. He is heading into Year 4 of a five-year, $179.3 million contract.
Porter could have paired with Bulls forward Matas Buzelis, the No. 11 overall pick of the 2024 draft, to give Chicago a versatile duo if the trade went down.
Michael Porter Jr.’s Toughness & Durability
Michael Porter Jr., Chicago Bulls
GettyMichael Porter Jr. #1 of the Denver Nuggets looks on against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Before the trade speculation, Porter Jr. gave strong hints that he wanted to land with the Bulls in the draft, even sharing pictures of himself adorned in the team’s merchandise.
Teams were concerned about his medical history, though, which dated back to high school and continued in college with a back issue that required surgery. The self-proclaimed top prospect in the class with a paper-trail of rankings to back it up, Porter slid to the very end of the lottery.
His loss was the Nuggets’ gain, and they won a championship together in 2022-23.
Porter averaged 9.6 PPG on 36.2% eFG with 8.4 RPG in those Finals. He struggled from beyond the arc, hitting 14.3% of those looks in the series.
He also started and closed the set with double-doubles. Porter has played in 158 out of a possible 164 games over the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, which could suggest the worst of his injury woes are behind him since he was able to play through his shoulder issue.
He could need another season like that to convince the Bulls a trade would be worthwhile.
Bulls’ Decision on Michael Porter Jr. Trade Telling
Michael Porter Jr., Chicago Bulls
GettyMichael Porter Jr. #1 of the Denver Nuggets reacts against the Boston Celtics.
The Bulls’ passing on Porter is more telling than the same decision coming from some other organizations.
Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas was in the Nuggets’ front office, serving as the team’s general manager, when Porter was drafted. Porter averaged 9.3 PPG on 59% eFG in Karnišovas’ final season with the Nuggets.
Few executives have as much insight into Porter’s medical history as Karnišovas.
The question is whether or not Porter’s recent, healthier trend has been enough to sway the Bulls’ top decision-maker into a trade this offseason.