Sean Marks Isn’t Rushing a Michael Porter Jr. Extension. Here’s Why That Matters.

Michael Porter Jr. was supposed to be a trade chip. That was the assumption. The Nets were rebuilding, and a guy with one year left on his deal looked like obvious deadline bait. But then Brooklyn went and traded for Julius Randle. And suddenly the team that looked like it was tanking has a little bit of a pulse.

Now people are asking: does that mean Porter stays? And for how long?

General manager Sean Marks is keeping his options open. When asked about a potential extension for Porter, he didn’t close the door. “We’ll have those discussions,” Marks told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “We’ve got time. There’s no immediate hurry right now. We value him a lot. He had a terrific year. I love Mike, the guy, the person, the player, and I hope he is part of this team.”

That sounds warm. But the calendar is ticking louder than Marks lets on.

The Clock Is Ticking

Porter has only one year left on his contract. If the Nets want to keep him beyond this season, they need to make a decision by next February’s trade deadline — or risk losing him for nothing in free agency. That’s not a ton of time when you’re still figuring out what your roster actually is.

Brooklyn has a bunch of young guys still developing. Randle just got here. The team hasn’t played a meaningful game together yet. So there’s logic in waiting. See how the pieces fit. See if Porter and Randle can coexist. See if this team is actually competitive in the East or just slightly less bad than last year.

But Porter Was Really, Really Good

Last season was a career year for the 2023 NBA champion. In 52 games, Porter averaged 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 46.3 percent from the field. Those are legit numbers on a bad team. The question is whether they hold up when Randle is eating touches and the offense runs through a different center of gravity.

And that’s the gamble for Brooklyn. If Porter’s production dips, you might feel OK letting him walk. But if he’s still that guy — and the team is better — then you’re left scrambling to keep him. Or you trade him before the deadline. Or you let him test the market and hope he comes back. None of those are great options.

Marks has months to figure this out. But at some point, the phone rings and he has to make a call. The Nets have one of the only reliable scorers they’ve got in Porter. Letting that walk without a plan isn’t a strategy. It’s just hoping.