Michael Porter Jr., whom the Denver Nuggets selected No. 14 overall in June's NBA Draft, has undergone a second back surgery, the team announced on Thursday. There is no timetable for his return. From the Nuggets:
Michael Porter Jr. has undergone surgery of the lumbar spine at The Carrell Clinic in Dallas, Tex. The Procedure was performed by Dr. Andrew Dossett. There is no timetable for his return to basketball participation.
Steve Aschburner of NBA.com reported on Wednesday that despite the procedure, the Nuggets have no plans to sit Porter out for the entire year.
This latest procedure, according to Porter's camp, has led to a greater understanding of Porter's herniated-disks condition, boosting confidence he can move on from the injury and begin his Nuggets career. There is no plan at this point to have him sit out the 2018-19 season.
Once considered a possible No. 1 NBA Draft pick, the 6-foot-10 Porter's stock took a serious hit after he missed the majority of his only season at Missouri due to back surgery. Even before the draft, there were reports that Porter might miss part or all of his rookie season in the NBA.
The Nuggets were aware of the risk, but selected Porter with the last pick of the lottery understanding that it might be a while until he got on the court. Last season, Denver narrowly missed out on making the Western Conference playoffs for the first time since 2013, losing the No. 8 seed to the Timberwolves in the final game of the year. With all of their key pieces back, a (hopefully) healthy season from Paul Millsap, who missed more than half of last season due to injury and the addition of Isaiah Thomas, the Nuggets' rotation is in solid shape, even without Porter.
But if Porter can return at full strength and put his back issues behind him, he will provide length, versatility and scoring ability to an up-and-coming Nuggets roster.
