Michael Porter Jr. met with Suns, believes he’s top NBA Draft prospect

It’d be hard to find an NBA Draft big board without either Deandre Ayton or Luka Doncic atop it.

Perhaps Duke hybrid forward Marvin Bagley III could make a case for the top overall pick, but he’s one of the most raw lottery prospects available. Maybe Jaren Jackson Jr. presents the most upside, but foul trouble and inexperience didn’t allow him to become a dominating force at Michigan State.

The darkhorse in all this for the Suns, who own the first pick, is Michael Porter Jr., who according to ESPN’s Nick Friedell has met with Phoenix.

Porter was considered a No. 1 pick just a year ago before a back injury that required surgery kept him from appearing in only 53 total minutes for the Missouri Tigers this season.

He believes his back injury is in the past and his stock hasn’t changed.

“With the way the league is headed, those positionless players, tall wing players that can dribble the ball, I really feel like I can play 1 through 4 and, feeling the way I do now, guard 1 through 4,” Porter said Thursday on ESPN’s set at the NBA Draft Combine. “I’m feeling great.

“I understand that there is some risk, teams don’t know how I’m feeling, but I believe I’m the best player in the draft, yes.”

Porter told Friedell he’d injured his back as a sophomore in high school and played through it. It worsened enough where he required surgery, but he returned in Missouri’s last two games looking like a shell of his former self.

The forward went 5-for-17, scoring 12 points and grabbing eight rebounds in a March 8 game against Georgia, then scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on 4-for-12 shooting in an NCAA Tournament first round loss to Florida State on March 16.

Porter said he will allow teams to look at all of his medical records. The back issue is fully healed and should not be a problem if he exercises his core and stretches, he added.

If that’s true, Porter’s opinion about his talent isn’t unrealistic.

He was ranked by several reputable draft analysts as a top prospect before the injury. If he’d been able to enter the draft out of high school, he could have been a top-five pick a year ago.

Nonetheless, the injury has hurt. ESPN’s latest mock has the Cleveland Cavaliers drafting Porter No. 8 overall.

At 6-foot-10, 211 pounds and with a 7-foot wingspan, he has the handles of a perimeter player and one of the better jumpers among big men in the draft.

Appearing on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Burns & Gambo Wednesday, FOX Sports analyst Casey Jacobsen suggested that Porter is the second-best prospect behind Ayton.

“I think Michael Porter Jr. is as good of a prospect in this draft as any,” said Jacobsen, who is also a former Suns guard. “I think Michael Porter Jr. is tailor-made for the NBA. Six-10, wing, really good shooter, can handle the basketball, can make plays for others — a Jayson Tatum type of wing.

“He has all the skills, he’s super long and athletic. Is his back an issue? I can’t answer that question.”

What does the meeting with Phoenix mean? Maybe not a whole lot regarding the draft.

For the Suns, the vetting process won’t be restricted to Ayton and Doncic. They will use the next month to do their homework on the rest of the prospects considering they have picks at Nos. 16, 31 and 59.

Even for players out of range at 16, that means research.

Joining Bickley & Marotta earlier in the week, ESPN’s Jay Bilas said Porter was “the guy I think is the most interesting player in the draft. He’s got all the measurables and skills. Good pull-up shooter.

“When is the right time to pull the trigger on him?” Bilas added. “When is the risk worth the potential reward?”

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