After Dame trade, Nuggets’ MPJ has a message for the Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets easily could’ve met in the 2023 NBA Finals but the top in the east didn’t see the best of the west because of a historic first-round exit against eventual east-winners the Miami Heat.

While losers of the series, the Bucks beat the Heat to the punch in acquiring Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard. The guard is a potential championship-changing pickup and everyone knows it, including Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr.

“If he goes to Milwaukee, they’re a problem, who’d they trade for,” Porter Jr. asked about the trade in a video on Twitter as it broke.

“Dame and Giannis is unbelievable, but they had to move Jrue though,” Porter Jr. said.

Gotta Love MPJ. “That’s good so we can see them in the finals” pic.twitter.com/LX5fPbmyBU

— Ray 🕷️ (@ifihad222choose) September 27, 2023

Porter and the Nuggets cruised through the playoffs with a 16-4 record en route to Denver’s first-ever title. Though we never got to see Nikola Jokic square off with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Now each has won a ring, a Finals MVP and has been a back-to-back MVP in this modern-day Bird vs. Magic, who can get back to the peak first?

While Jokic may have a good jump on the starting gate, Antetokounmpo’s chances quite literally were boosted by the Lillard addition.

“But that’s good they’re in the east, we would see them in the Finals,” Porter Jr. said. “But they’d have to beat Boston still. But the reason that Boston could beat Milwaukee is they couldn’t shoot really—now they can, did that really happen?”

So there you have it, the Nuggets are obviously thinking about another trip to the NBA Finals. And between the Celtics and Bucks that may be stiffer competition than anything Denver could get in the West. Interestingly enough MPJ was slightly curious to hear where DeAndre Ayton landed.

The rare inside look at a big-name player reacting to league happenings is cool and given training camp hasn’t even begun, it’s hard to claim MPJ is anything else but focused on the coming season. A year that could be a big one for the sweet-shooter given he’ll be two years removed from season-ending back surgery.

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