Michael Porter Jr.’s Challenge what Sean Marks and the Nets face is complicated

Or the sick Michael Porter Jr. is back on Sunday to face the Nuggets team that traded him, his absence has only underscored his importance.

With Porter, the Nets have been competitive — and sometimes a little better than that, winning seven of their last 10 games. But without him they are 0-6.

Now they’ll host the Nuggets at Barclays Center after dropping three in a row and watching their tank get back on track.

And despite Porter’s recent illness (he’s considered likely after missing the previous two games), more and more teams are now being linked with possible interest in the red-hot forward.

Porter is averaging 25.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists in his career. He is the only qualified player in the East with at least 25 points and seven boards and one of only five in the entire league, joining Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Lauri Markkanen and Deni Avdija.

As a 27-year-old on a rebuilding team, that makes Porter a walking turning point.

Is Porter, a starter on the 2023 champions Denver, more valuable as a foundation piece to build on despite the points his scoring costs the Nets in the lottery standings? Or is he more valuable as a trade chip before next month’s deadline because he brings back new picks – and helps the Nets’ own roster by leaving?

These aren’t the only decisions general manager Sean Marks has to make, but they are among the most important – and most urgent.

The Post reported in the summer that the Nets expect to have a two-year tank and take it a step further in Year 3. Now, Jake Fischer of The Steinline wrote that the Nets’ time frame could depend on how they do in June’s draft, and that league sources expect them to get aggressive after the draft regardless of whether or not they trade Porter.

After being cornered by James Harden – and probably even before – Marks values ​​flexibility. That’s exactly what he’s created, with the Nets leading the league not only in draft picks (32 total, 13 firsts — a dozen unprotected) but also in cap space ($15.5 million, up to $50 million this offseason).

They can use the latter to get more of the former, taking payroll before the trade deadline to land more picks. That’s what they did with Porter, prying the Nuggets’ coveted 2032 unprotected first-round pick away just to get Porter.

Getting salary dumped is something Porter used as fuel heading into his career year.

“Yes, I definitely use everything I can as motivation,” Porter said. “There was so much fuss about me as a player. I just felt like a lot of things had been discredited due to the fact that it was a rough end to my time there.

“I knew that if I was healthy here, I could change the narrative around me.”

Porter not only changed the story, but also his value.

After the trade was derided by Bill Simmons as one of the worst of the decade, Fischer is now noting that a premium and re-tradable salary may not be enough to get the Nets to flip Porter midseason.

The Clippers and Bucks have been linked with interest in Porter. Fischer reported that Milwaukee is evaluating Porter and also adding the Warriors and Bulls.

But the Nets have risen from sixth to fifth in the lottery standings and see their odds at one of three elite prospects – Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer or AJ Dybantsa – increase from 27.6 percent to 31.6 percent. They are only a game and a half out of fourth place, which would mean a jump to 36.6 percent.

While moving Porter would help their tank, the past few games have shown that spotting rest days can do the same. And he clearly loves Brooklyn.

“Yes, I love it here,” Porter said when asked by The Post if he sees himself in Brooklyn long-term. “So whatever team wants and appreciates what I bring to the table, then that’s where I want to be. And I feel like they do that here. … Like I said, if they want me here, I’d love to be here.”