Report: Michael Porter Jr. may end up sitting out his first year in the NBA

In recent years, guys like Philadelphia 76ers G Ben Simmons and C Joel Embiid have sat out their rookie NBA seasons with injuries.

Now, it appears former Mizzou F Michael Porter Jr. could follow that path as he deals with back injuries that kept him out for most of his one year with the Tigers.

According to reports from NBA Draft analysts, Porter is likely to take a “redshirt” year next season:

This was Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) on @929espn today talking Michael Porter Jr.: "The sense I'm hearing among teams in the top 10 is there's a very strong likelihood he's going to have to redshirt his rookie year."

— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) June 19, 2018

Of course, it worked out for Simmons, as he is likely to win the Rookie of the Year award this season after sitting out all of his actual rookie season last year.

Will it affect his draft stock? We’ll find out on Thursday, but he’s still almost certain to be a top-10 pick.