NBA Draft: Michael Porter Jr. medical evaluation results
By Tyler Watts
NBA Draft prospect Michael Porter Jr. brought teams to Chicago on June 15 for a medical evaluation, and the results were positive.
NBA Draft night happens on Thursday, June 21. That means we are under a week away. The excitement and analysis are reaching a fever pitch. The news is coming left and right, but do not believe everything you hear this time of year. Lots of stories are out there, but not all of them are entirely true.
The Sacramento Kings had a busy June 15. They traveled to Chicago to learn more about prospect Michael Porter Jr. and his medicals. Sean Cunningham provides Kings fans with an update on the happenings below.
The evaluation in Chicago with Missouri's Michael Porter Jr. was characterized as having gone well for the draft prospect. A specialist led teams, including the Kings through an evaluation of Porter's medical report. Haven't ruled out visiting teams prior to Draft, sources say.
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) June 16, 2018
Digging deeper
The wording of that Tweet set off a few alarm bells in my head, though. Maybe it is the conspiracy theorist in me, but it implies the teams did not look at Porter Jr. themselves. People get second opinions for a reason, so certainly the Kings would have liked to have their own doctors examine MPJ.
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Porter Jr’s agent knew the message today would be positive or he would not have held the meeting too. His goal is to get MPJ drafted as high as possible, remember that.
A second take
Below is a different Tweet from Jordan Schultz of Yahoo regarding the June 15 proceedings.
Source familiar with Michael Porter, Jr.’s medical results today says everything was clean and that his back was better than expected. More good news for the Porter camp in Chicago. #NBADraft https://t.co/i3bWEG8MxS
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) June 16, 2018
Things sound much better in this Tweet, but it is unclear what to believe. Not much concrete information was put out just results in comparison to expectations.
My main point is we did not learn much about Porter Jr’s health, but teams hopefully did. That could boost his draft stock slightly. Porter Jr. is likely selected somewhere in the top-ten, but it is difficult to peg as of this writing.
Final thoughts
The Sacramento Kings and other teams evaluated the medicals of Michael Porter Jr. on June 15. The results could see MPJ move up draft board slightly on June 21. Stay tuned to see if Porter Jr. schedules a visit with the Kings in the coming days.
A Royal Pain has the Sacramento Kings covered from every angle this offseason. Please check back with us frequently because our team will have all the opinions and analysis on the NBA Draft, free agency, and summer league that all Kings fan would enjoy. Thank you for reading.