Michael Porter Jr. is heading into the last year of his deal and is set to make $40.8 million in 2026-27. He just put together the best individual season of his career, but the Nets still finished 20-62, 13th in the East. Even after bringing in more veterans this summer with Keon Ellis, Mo Wagner, and former All-Star Julius Randle, the Nets clearly aren’t close enough to contending to treat a 28-year-old expiring scorer as some untouchable piece.
The Magic started last season in a totally different place. They sent out Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four first-round picks, and a first-round swap to Memphis for Desmond Bane. That was about as clear a win-now move as you’ll see, a bet that Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs were ready to compete near the top of the East.
It didn’t really pan out the way they expected in the first season, honestly. Orlando finished 45-37, eighth seed, got through the Play-In, and then somehow blew a 3-1 series lead to the Pistons. They dropped a 24-point lead in Game 6 and then got smoked by 22 in Game 7. After giving up that much for Bane, a third consecutive first-round exit stung a lot more than it normally would.
Wagner’s injuries were a big part of why the season fell apart. He only played 34 regular-season games because of ankle issues, then strained his calf in Game 4 against Detroit and missed the rest of the series. Even so, he still put up 20.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, but Orlando just never got a full, healthy look at its core group.
The bigger issue for the Magic hasn’t gone anywhere, though. They still need more shooting, more spacing, and easier offense around Banchero. Even with Bane in the fold, Orlando finished 19th in offensive rating (114.9) and 27th in three-point shooting (34.3%). Better than their historically bad 2024-25 offense, sure, but nowhere near the top to justify what they paid to get here.
Porter would obviously help with that. His $40.8 million salary makes most trade ideas awkward, but Wagner is really the best one-for-one match Orlando has to offer. Brooklyn would get a younger piece locked up long-term, and the Magic would get one of the league’s more dangerous high-volume shooters while handing even more of the creation load back to Banchero.
Would that actually make sense, though?
Trade Idea
Brooklyn Nets Receive: Franz Wagner
Orlando Magic Receive: Michael Porter Jr., 2029 first-round pick (via Knicks), 2031 first-round pick (via Knicks), 2028 second-round pick (via Grizzlies), 2032 second-round pick (via Nuggets)
Porter is set to make $40.8 million next year, Wagner $41.8 million. Brooklyn has plenty of room to absorb that roughly $1.0 million gap, and Orlando would actually shave a bit off its payroll in the process, which matters given how close the Magic are sitting to the $221.7 million second apron.
The real difference is long-term. Porter hits unrestricted free agency in 2027, while Wagner has four years and around $185.6 million left on his deal through 2029-30. Brooklyn currently owns the unprotected 2029 and 2031 Knicks firsts, plus the seconds included here. Sending them out would still leave the Nets with their own future first-rounders intact, while finally putting part of their enormous stockpile to use on an actual established young player.
Why Orlando Might (Or Might Not) Do This
The case for the Magic starts and ends with spacing. Porter posted 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 52 games last season, shooting 46.3% from the field, 36.3% from three, and 85.9% from the line on 9.3 three-point attempts a night. His efficiency dipped a bit under the added creation load in Brooklyn, but defenses simply can’t help off a 6-foot-10 shooter with that kind of release.
Pair Porter with Bane around Banchero, and you completely change how teams have to guard Orlando. Bane shot 39.1% from three last year, and Porter’s a 40.0% career three-point shooter, so defenses can’t crowd the paint or send extra help at Paolo the way they used to in the postseason.
Banchero averaged 22.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists last season but only shot 30.5% from deep. His bread and butter is getting downhill, attacking mismatches, and creating after he collapses the defense. Swap Wagner for Porter and the offensive hierarchy gets a lot simpler: Banchero creates, Bane shoots and relocates, Porter roams the perimeter hunting threes.
There’s also an asset angle the Magic could find helpful here. Orlando already gave up first-rounders in 2025, 2026, 2028 and 2030 to get Bane. Landing the unprotected Knicks picks in 2029 and 2031 would rebuild some of that draft capital without hurting the team right now, and those picks could always be flipped later for a guard or a center if needed.
That said, I think the case against this trade is a lot stronger. Wagner is 24. Porter is 28, has had multiple back surgeries, just finished the season nursing a hamstring injury, and walks after one year. Orlando would essentially be trading a long-term core piece for a better shooter who comes with way less security attached.
Wagner also does things Porter simply can’t. He brings the ball up, runs pick-and-rolls, gets to the rim, and creates offense when Banchero needs a breather. Porter’s passing improved last year, but he still only averaged 3.0 assists while shouldering a massive scoring load. Porter is way more of a finisher than an actual offensive engine.
That gap shows up most in the playoffs. Orlando already had trouble generating good half-court looks once Detroit loaded up on Banchero. Take Wagner out of the equation, and Paolo gets more room to operate, sure, but he also inherits nearly every tough creation possession, and he was simply rough in isolation scoring last season. Bane can absorb some of that, but leaning on Banchero as the lone big-bodied creator feels like a risk after a year where his efficiency got crushed.
The picks don’t necessarily fix the value gap either. The Knicks could still be good in 2029, which would push that pick into the 20s. The 2031 pick has more juice, but that’s five years out while Orlando is trying to win now, around Banchero’s current window, not stockpile assets for the next decade.
The biggest red flag, honestly, is the timing. The Magic would be moving Wagner right after a season wrecked by injuries. He missed 48 regular-season games plus the last three of the Pistons series. Trading him now basically treats those injuries as proof the core doesn’t work, when in reality Orlando barely got to see the full Banchero-Wagner-Bane group on the floor together.
That feels way too reactionary to me.
The Case For The Nets
The Nets should be a lot more interested in this one, and that’s no secret. Brooklyn won 20 games and finished dead last in offensive rating at 108.7. Porter had a career year individually, but it didn’t make the team any more competitive. Handing him another huge deal heading into his 30s makes far less sense than flipping him plus some picks for Wagner instead.
Wagner would instantly be the best long-term piece on the roster. He’s only 24, has averaged 19.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists over five seasons, and is locked up through his age-28 year. That timeline lines up with Egor Demin, Mikel Brown Jr., Danny Wolf, Nolan Traore, and the rest of Brooklyn’s young core far better than Porter’s does.
The Nets also have more draft picks than they know what to do with, with 13 future firsts and 19 seconds. At some point that capital has to turn into actual difference-makers instead of just more prospects competing for the same minutes and development reps.
Giving up two Knicks firsts stings, especially with the 2031 pick carrying real upside. But Wagner is basically the exact type of player Brooklyn would be hoping to land with one of those picks anyway, a proven 20-point scorer with size, playoff reps, and secondary playmaking already in hand.
There’s a fun side story here too, if you might consider it. The Nets just signed Moritz Wagner to a two-year, $19.0 million deal, so Franz would get to reunite with his brother right away. Shouldn’t be a real factor in a blockbuster like this, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. The real question is whether Wagner is actually good enough to justify all that investment.
He’s a genuinely good player, but he hasn’t shown he can be a true No. 1 option on a contender. His career three-point percentage sits at just 32.5%, and Brooklyn would be paying him north of $50.0 million in the final year of the deal. There’s a real risk the Nets burn two unprotected firsts landing a strong second option before they’ve even found their first one.
The fit next to Julius Randle isn’t perfect either. Both guys like operating inside the arc, neither is a great three-point shooter, and both need the ball in their hands. Brooklyn doesn’t magically become a modern spacing team just because Wagner is younger than Porter.
There’s also another route where Brooklyn could just hang onto the picks, let Porter have another big year, and trade him separately to a contender for even more at the deadline. That keeps the flexibility intact instead of committing close to $186.0 million to Wagner right away.
Even so, if I’m Brooklyn, I’m doing this deal. Players with Wagner’s age, size, and production almost never hit the market, and the Nets have basically built this entire rebuild around being ready to pounce on exactly this kind of opportunity.
Final Thoughts
If I’m the Magic, I’m passing on this one. Porter would make the offense prettier right away. Banchero driving with Bane spacing one side and MPJ spacing the other is exactly the kind of look the Magic have been chasing for years. And the two Knicks picks make this a lot more serious than your typical “expiring contract for a young guy” swap.
But this trade solves Orlando’s shooting problem by creating a brand new creation problem: Wagner isn’t a great shooter, but he’s the only other forward on the roster capable of consistently taking pressure off Banchero as a creator. Porter makes Banchero’s drives a little easier, sure, but he does nothing for Paolo when he’s trapped, gassed, or on the bench.
For me, it’s not really about whether Porter fits in Orlando because he obviously does. It’s whether that fit is worth giving up a 24-year-old creator locked in for four more years. Spoiler: It’s not.
Sean Marks, if you’re reading, Brooklyn should be on the phone about this immediately, but Orlando should be asking for at least one more first-rounder, or a genuinely premium young player, before even considering it. And honestly, even then, I’d rather see the Banchero-Wagner-Bane trio get at least one truly healthy season together before blowing it up.
The Magic already made one massive bet by giving up four first-round picks for Bane. They don’t need to make a second one just because injuries wrecked the first year of the experiment.
