NBA Trade Rumors: Clippers Land Michael Porter Jr. in 3-Team Mock Trade as Ivica Zubac Goes to Celtics

Michael Porter Jr. has been part of several trade rumors amid a breakout season with the Brooklyn Nets. On Monday, APHoops proposed a three-team deal that lands Porter with the LA Clippers, while the Boston Celtics receive a frontcourt upgrade.

In the trade proposal, Brooklyn would acquire Anfernee Simons, John Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kobe Brown and draft picks. The Clippers' haul is headlined by Porter, and they will also receive Day'Ron Sharpe, Cameron Thomas and Haywood Highsmith. The third team, the Celtics, would acquire Ivica Zubac and Ziaire Williams.

The struggling Nets, which are 10-19, would reload on several future draft picks and acquire tradeable assets that they could flip later. While Porter is having a career year, the Nets could decide to bank on his increased value and get assets that could help them in their rebuild.

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Meanwhile, the Clippers (10-21), which are also struggling this year, are pressured to make changes to improve their roster. Porter gives LA a capable scorer who could help them in their playoff push. The Clippers would also receive several players who could play key roles off the bench.

Boston, which many expected to have a down year in 2025-26, has exceeded expectations early. The Celtics are No. 3 in the Eastern Conference with a 19-12 record. In the APHoops' trade proposal, they would acquire a potential future NBA All-Star in Zubac. The 7-foot center would fill Boston's glaring hole in the middle.

NBA analyst says Michael Porter Jr. 'changed his trade status'

On Saturday's "The Bill Simmons Podcast," NBA analyst Tim Legler said that Brooklyn Nets star Michael Porter Jr. is now being viewed by rival teams differently.

"I really believe in just conversations that I'm having, I think the guy's completely changed his (trade) status, in terms of attractiveness to teams," Legler said. "I think people thought, OK, you kind of knew what Michael Porter was. "The fact that he can do this offensively. … I do think now there's probably more teams that would look at him that are sort of those middle-of-the-road playoff teams, and go, man, that would be nice to add that kind of scoring punch."

In 25 games, Michael Porter Jr. is averaging career highs in points (25.8), rebounds (7.4) and assists (3.2). He is shooting 49.4%, including 40.4% from 3-point range, in 32.8 minutes per game.

In the first fan voting returns for the 2026 All-Star Game announced on Monday, Porter ranked 10th in the Eastern Conference with 150,370 votes.

Edited by Kim Daniel Rubinos