The Charlotte Hornets passed on Michael Porter Jr. in the draft but did consider picking the former Missouri Tiger.
According to Charlotte Hornets‘ general manager Mitch Kupchak, the team did consider drafting Michael Porter Jr. in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft but decided against it after his workout was canceled in Chicago. (Twitter/ @RyanChellWFNZ) Kupchak said that they did travel to see MPJ workout before it was canceled.
Porter Jr. was available when Charlotte selected both at No. 11 and at No. 12 after trading Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (No. 11 pick) to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for the 12th overall pick. The Hornets chose to pass on Michael and instead select Miles Bridges in the first round. As for Porter, he fell to the Denver Nuggets who had the final pick in the lottery at No. 14.
It’s clear that the Queen City team was targeting a forward but they chose to go with the safer option in Bridges rather than go with the high-risk/high-reward move in Porter. Kupchak indicated that Michael’s injury history and medicals played a part in them passing on MPJ.
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Mitch said “As a GM, you have to weigh the risk vs. the reward. I hope the kid plays right away in Denver.”
If healthy going forward, Porter Jr. could potentially be the best prospect in the 2018 draft class and arguably has the most upside of any player. Before suffering a back injury in college that limited him to only three games at the University of Missouri, he was considered the No. 1 overall prospect.
Many teams in the lottery had Michael on their radar and some expected him to still go in the top-five but concerns over his back surgery and how it would hold up long-term drew teams away from selecting him. There are rumors that he may have to sit out a year for his back to completely heal but leading up to the draft, the 6’10 forward has continually said that he is healthy.
For Charlotte to compete this season, they couldn’t take a gamble on a player like Porter Jr. They needed an immediate impact player with zero injury concerns and that’s what they got in Miles Bridges.
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Michael will have the chance to prove his doubters wrong going forward and it will be interesting to see if he remains healthy. The Charlotte Hornets, among other lottery teams this year, will hope that they won’t regret passing on Porter Jr. in the future. Although, there was a reason why so many teams decided against taking him.