Porter a tricky pick for teams

Someone is going to gamble on Michael Porter Jr.

He insists it will pay off.

There is an element of danger involved with every NBA draft pick, in that nothing is guaranteed. But there isn’t a player who epitomizes the risk-versus-reward thinking in this draft more than Porter, who could get taken as high as No. 2 by the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night in Brooklyn — or go several picks lower because of uncertainty surrounding his health.

Back problems that necessitated surgery limited his lone college season to three games at Missouri, and a scheduled Friday workout was called off because of hip spasms. There’s still a chance he will do a workout before draft night, and teams have been granted access to new medical information that would seem to suggest he’s ready for the NBA.

Skepticism may be understandable still, but the player doesn’t see the need. “I’m feeling great,” Porter said.

He’s 6-foot-10 and is usually categorized as a power forward, though in an NBA that’s now largely positionless, Porter could wear a lot of hats. He has already shown a complete set of skills — passing, dribbling, shooting — that would translate to playing basically anywhere except center. He weighed 211 pounds last month at the combine, meaning there’s still plenty of room on his frame to add strength.

His college highlights are basically nonexistent: Porter scored 30 points in 53 minutes of action with the Tigers. His reputation is largely built on what he did in high school, when he was considered the best prospect in the country, and there was a workout earlier this month, arranged by agent Mark Bartelstein, that earned rave reviews.

“He showed that he’s alive and well and moving,” said Memphis Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace, whose team has the No. 4 pick and has been linked to Porter by many prognosticators. “I would say passed that first test.”

Porter played two minutes in his college debut in November, then underwent back surgery — a microdiscectomy of the L3 and L4 spinal discs — less than two weeks later. He returned for a Southeastern Conference tournament game against Georgia in March, then put up 16 points and 10 rebounds in Missouri’s loss to Florida State in the NCAA tournament.