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The first time Michael Porter Jr. actually talked to anyone from the Denver Nuggets was Thursday at the NBA draft. He didn’t think there was any need Isaiah Oliver Falcons Jersey , and neither did the Nuggets.

The fact that he was available at No. 14 surprised both parties, regardless of Porter’s well-documented back and recent hip issues.

The oft-injured forward thinks he shook hands with someone from the Nuggets after his pro day workout. He said the first time he spoke to someone from the organization was when he was drafted, either the general manager or the owner -he’s not sure who it was.

Still, he made enough of an impression for the Nuggets brain trust to make him the last lottery pick selected on Thursday night.

“I’m not going to lie to you, I was stressed out,” Porter said. “All that stress was overcome by joy the moment I got called, no matter what number it was. It’s been my dream since I was a kid.

“At the end of the day, the draft is a number and I wasn’t going to let an ego get in the way of my joy. I’m happy to be where I’m at and I feel like it’s the perfection situation for me.”

Albeit an unexpected situation.

Everything Porter knew about the Nuggets was hearsay – “a great city, a great organization.” He didn’t invest much of his time prior to the draft getting to know the team.

“Honestly, the teams at the very, very top of the draft told me last week I was their guy, they were going to take me,” Porter said. “Then the hip episode happened, and then doctors got involved and they got score. So once one team gets scared, a lot of them get scared.”

That’s how he dropped.

Porter also had the back history as a red flag. He played only three games at Missouri, 53 minutes total. He sustained a back injury and had to undergo surgery. Then, the hip happened during the draft process and he cancelled a recent workout.

Knowing some teams considered him a gamble, maybe even a risk Jarvis Landry Jersey Youth , Porter just wanted to go somewhere that believed in him, which is apparently Denver.

“I consider it a blessing,” Porter said, “because maybe the team I was going to go to at the top wasn’t the right team for me.”

Right or wrong, it will cost him. Porter is guaranteed $2.4 million. First-pick Deandre Ayton will get at least $6.7 million.

Many fans at Barclays Center wanted Porter to go earlier, specifically ninth. As soon as the New York Knicks were on the clock, chants of Porter’s name broke out. Porter looked over to a crowd of fans on his left and smiled.

Both parties were disappointed when Commissioner Adam Silver announced Kevin Knox’s name instead.

“That’s just motivation,” Knox said. “A lot of people want him to get to the Knicks, but I mean, it’s all good with me. . They can chant Michael Porter all they want. But they got Kevin Knox, and I’m willing to work and I’m willing to get better.”

And Porter is going to do the same – for the Nuggets.

Porter can’t wait to prove every team that passed on him wrong. He’s not concerned about his health. And he plans to show that no one else should be worried either.

Well, except his competitors.

“For me, we’re all in the NBA now,” Porter said. “We’ll see who are the best players, and we’ll see who should have been the top draft picks.”

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鈥?Lured out of the broadcast booth with a $100 million contract that makes him the highest-paid football coach ever, Jon Gruden sauntered up to the podium and flashed that mischievous smile.“I’m very excited to be back here in Indianapolis,” Gruden declared. “I sure have missed the combine.”Gruden is navigating an offseason NFL landscape that’s changed drastically since he last roamed the sideline nearly a decade ago.“It’s a lot different because you’re not allowed to have any interaction with the players, and I’ve always complained about that since the new (collective bargaining agreement) came into place Myles Garrett Jersey ,” Gruden said Wednesday. “A lot of players would come to see me in Tampa to get their football fix.“So, you’re not allowed to have contact with these guys. But what’s most discouraging to me is we’ve got to make some decisions on our roster, on salaries, on players and their futures and you can’t even meet them,” Gruden grumbled.“I don’t know these guys. I’ve never coached them. I never met half of them. So, that’s been very, very difficult for me and I’ve been emotional about it at times.”On the next podium was Matt Patricia, who, unlike his former colleague Josh McDaniels, didn’t balk at leaving Bill Belichick’s brigade.Then there was Andy Reid, in the midst of another major roster shakeup, and his protege, Doug Pederson, still basking in Philadelphia’s first Super Bowl triumph in just his second season as coach of the Eagles.All are gathering this week in Indianapolis hoping to better their chances of winning in 2018.Top college prospects, including a group of quarterbacks that could produce five first-round draft picks, will spend four days getting poked and prodded, tested and timed.GMs and coaches will pepper them with questions either in formal 15-minute interviews or during a mixed zone after their physical assessments.“It’s a chance to get to know these guys, to know exactly what you’re getting when they come into the building M.J. Stewart Jersey ,” said new Texans general manager Brian Gaine.He said their athleticism and acumen are already well-known, and they’ll flash their strength, speed and swiftness this week at Lucas Oil Stadium.What the GMs and coaches want to do is get a look under the hood.“We’d like to talk about football as much as we can, but we need to know everything we can to find out about these players,” Gaine said. “So when they come into our building (we know) that they’re a good fit for us in the locker room, in the weight room, in the training room, in the meeting rooms, out on the practice field.”After this week, teams will retreat to their headquarters and begin preparing for the annual flood of free agents that will hit the market in mid-March.NFL reported this week that teams will soon receive in-game player-tracking data on every NFL player in the league, something that could change the way they scout opponents and evaluate free agents.The league has gathered the data since 2014 through sensors in players’ shoulder pads. Until now, teams only had data on their own players.Some teams have embraced the new tools more than others.“Are you talking about the analytics, the GPS, all the modern technology?” Gruden said. “Man, I’m trying to throw the game back to 1998.“You know, really as a broadcaster, I went around and observed every team, asked a lot of questions Christian Kirk Youth Jersey , took a look at the facilities, how they’re doing business, there’s a stack of analytic data or ‘DAY-tuh,’ however you want to say that word, people don’t even know how to read it. It’s one thing to have the data 鈥?or DAY-tuh 鈥?it’s another thing to know how to read the damn thing.“So, I’m not going to rely on GPSs and all the modern technology. I will certainly have some people that are professional that can help me from that regard. But I still think doing things the old-fashioned way is a good way, and we’re going to try to lean the needle that way a little bit.”Also meeting in Indianapolis this week is the league’s competition committee, which is looking into fixing the catch rule, something commissioner Roger Goodell said was his top offseason priority.The committee is also pondering whether to change the defensive pass interference rule from a spot foul into a 15-yard infraction as it is in college.Broncos coach Vance Joseph dismissed that possibility because of the harm it could cause to a league that just gave us a thrilling Super Bowl featuring 1,151 yards of offense, more than any NFL game ever played.“The DPI rule’s not going to change, guys. That’s nice media talk,” Joseph said. “The catch rule? It has to clear up what’s an actual catch and what’s not a catch. But the DPI rule’s not going to change. It’s a fun game. We like to see points being scored. If that rule changes, there’s going to be a lot of defensive backs grabbing and pulling guys, so that won’t change.”.