Otto Porter

[Zonkerbl]

For some reason I jus feel otto would be mini durant..

Huh? Durant is way more athletic, smooth, and a naturally gifted scorer than Porter ever will be. They are nothing alike. Durant has one of the best strokes ever. They only time I've heard them mentioned in the same sentence was when Porter compared himself to Durant.

They're both tall and skinny?

They're both pretty good at basketball?

[dckingsfan]

I tell you one thing, Gooden has been good but has regressed some lately....

Regression to the mean is a painful thing to watch

[sashae]

Huh? Durant is way more athletic, smooth, and a naturally gifted scorer than Porter ever will be. They are nothing alike. Durant has one of the best strokes ever. They only time I've heard them mentioned in the same sentence was when Porter compared himself to Durant.

They're both tall and skinny?

They're both pretty good at basketball?

Charitable/broad definition of 'good'

[Dat2U]

Yes. If Porter proves to deserve more minutes, then trade Webster to accommodate him. At this point in time, I don't see it. I'd happily resign Ariza and force Porter to earn his minutes behind Ariza and Webster. The minutes are there if he's good enough. Once he merits more than 15-20 minutes a game, then we start shopping Webster.

Don't put the cart before the horse. Porter needs to take minutes from Webster to free us up to trade Webster. We don't trade Webster to free up minutes for Porter.

Honestly I would say this is a good idea if Porter were in his 3rd or 4th year. But for a rookie just starting out and a coach who has a penchant for going to veterans, one of these players really does have to go. If Otto is supposed to be part of the centerpiece then he's gonna need to play more. He's gonna need to get used to the NBA flow of the game and learn the system. If he is as good or bad as perceived then he is gonna have to prove it out on the court and so far he hasn't gotten his fair shot.

Part of this is coaching, part is management, and part of it is on Porter. Ted and EG put Randy in a position where he had to win now or get fired. A coach in that position is likely to go with veterans and that's exactly what Randy did. I think a huge factor in this was Porter's early injury and lack of training camp. Randy never felt comfortable with Porter learning on the job because he knew it would take a lot of minutes and Randy just didn't want to risk it.

I don't think the dynamic will be quite the same next year. Assuming the key free agents are resigned, I think the team is comfortably a playoff team for the next couple of years. Randy will have a bit more breathing room. Also, Porter will be a year older, a year wiser, a bit stronger, and most importantly, will have had a full season and training camp under his belt.

I don't trust Randy to play Otto, especially when Ariza & Webster are both rock solid vets with defined skill-sets that aren't losing their spot in the rotation anytime soon. With Ariza, Webster & Beal, there simply isn't enough minutes for Porter to really get much of a shot, especially since Randy seems allergic to the idea of going small and playing Ariza some at the 4.

IMO the best case scenario for all involved is for Ariza to spurn the Wizards and take a deal elsewhere. It might be painful in the short term but IMO that forces the Wizards to depend and hopefully play Porter. Otherwise, we resign Ariza to a bloated deal and hope he doesn't return to career norms and we've further devalued an asset in Porter because we've stacked the deck against him by having two quality vets signed long term at the only position he can play.

[deneem4]

Porter is kwahi leonard 2.0

[stevemcqueen1]

Otto played well in meaningful minutes. He did his thing. Defense, rebounding, moving off the ball, and scoring in a variety of ways.

If/when he gets a good set shot corner and FT line extended three he'll be immediately useful. The dude can play.

[AFM]

otto making me EAT MY WORDS!!!!!!!!!

[hands11]

The easiest move IMO is to let Ariza walk. His contract makes the decision for you. Then use the money you save to try and sign Patrick Patterson. Take a risk on Otto, we drafted him to be a starter after all. If he's not ready to start, we're insulated by being able to start Webster. It's a good risk. And I actually like a Nene, Gortat, Patterson, Gooden front court.

That would not surprise me. Ariza might prefer the west coast and not want to return here anyway. And Patterson fits. I'd prefer to keep Ariza and trade Webster, but your scenario is more likely.

I think Ariza might end up costing a lot more than Webster, which argues for Webster.

There are a lot of factors involving risk. If you let Ariza walk, it's letting a known successful starter go for nothing. If you sign Patterson, it's risking whether or not he'll translate his success in Toronto to our team. And going with Porter or Webster risks a downgrade from Ariza's production.

But doing the opposite also involves a lot of risks. Signing Ariza risks buying high after a contract/career year. It risks cutting off Porter's development, blocking him from ever being the starter we drafted him to be. It probably necessitates a future trade, which will involve risks. It's also got opportunity cost in probably not having the money for Patterson.

PG: Wall, Miler
SG: Beal
SF: Webster, Porter
PF: Nene, Patterson
C: Gortat

I like that top 8. Younger and bigger and more balanced than if we stick with Ariza. Probably cheaper too. I'd expect Patterson to cost less than Ariza.

The good news is, they should have options. This recent flash from Otto makes that even more so. I hope Randy keeps getting him minutes. Something about Otto just feels like he is ready now and even the playoffs wouldn't affect how he approaches what he needs to do out there. Otto could be a secret weapon for the playoffs. Not much tape on him. And he really changes the feel of the team with those young legs. Specially if TA and Webster are dragging.

[dopawcia]

Hi guys. Dont have time to read 67 pages of this thread so could you tell me why is so much love for him (O.Porter) ?
Was he born in Washington or is he a great talent or what ?
I read the last game thread and there was a lot about giving him more minutes etc.

[pancakes3]

Some people liked Porter because he's a smart player with good fundamentals who can play without needing the ball in his hands, and is a local Georgetown product. He's actually from St. Louis, Missouri and was recruited to play on the same AAU team as Beal but decided not to play AAU ball at all in favor of spending his free time playing with his dad and uncles who are all very good, HS state championship-level players.

Others didn't like Porter because he lacked athleticism, size, and has a funky looking shot. They thought Bennett would be a better fit because he's a more fluid athlete with the body type to pack on muscle.

As the season progressed more and more people grew disenchanted with Otto and his lack of minutes. It's implied that with Otto not playing, he must not look very good in practice and in fact, Otto has played one of the fewest minutes of any top 5 pick in history. He's pretty much a bust. If you take just only the rookie season into consideration, Otto pretty much is a bust.

Then Otto had one or two games - Magic included - where he looked good. So the question is, is Porter a good player who just was unfortunate in that he played behind Ariza and Webster - two very good players? Or is Porter not very good who grew to become better but still isn't very good and that 2-3 games worth of mediocre output isn't really indicative of his talent vs 60+ games of DNP-CD's?

edit to add: My personal feelings on Otto hasn't changed. He's a good player but is a kind of guy whose talent is dependent on his teammates. He looks a lot better with a guard who recognizes his cuts (like Andre Miller) and guys who can set screens for him to get free and open looks. Of course all players benefit from that but Porter actually knows how to move in space and play off-ball. I think a large amount of Otto's recent success is that Miller knows how to read him and feeds him passes because Miller's confident that he can finish.

[Wizardspride]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwkYP4wpcHk[/youtube]

[deneem4]

Porter has a motor...He looks like Faried on the boards and his cuts are like blake trying to get an oop...

[BruceO]

the most encouraging thing about him is his smarts and his hands..like him catching the bounce pass from wall just shows that this kid stays aware of everything thats going down. He looks like he might actually be a good two way player and im glad we are not rushing him. I still feel as a prospect i like him as much or even more than I had paul george ( sans the athleticism and aggresion) and kawhi leonard ( who also has more athleticism and aggresion). If porter body comes along i think we got a player on our hands who'll help us win in ways not reflected on the box score

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Just watched latest Wizards Magazine, and they have a good story on Porter. Gotta root for this guy!

[dckingsfan]

the most encouraging thing about him is his smarts and his hands..like him catching the bounce pass from wall just shows that this kid stays aware of everything thats going down. He looks like he might actually be a good two way player and im glad we are not rushing him. I still feel as a prospect i like him as much or even more than I had paul george ( sans the athleticism and aggresion) and kawhi leonard ( who also has more athleticism and aggresion). If porter body comes along i think we got a player on our hands who'll help us win in ways not reflected on the box score

I like how he can rebound in traffic and come up with loose balls that are bouncing around. I know it is a small sample size, but I think he could be as effective as Ariza on the glass.

[fishercob]

Physically, Otto will be fine.

[AFM]

This would have been a more powerful example






Just needs to get on that juice. Have monte inject it right into his ass cheek and he should be good.

[DCZards]

I like how he can rebound in traffic and come up with loose balls that are bouncing around. I know it is a small sample size, but I think he could be as effective as Ariza on the glass.

Rebounding was one of Otto's strengths at G'Town, as well as in high school. I believe there was one state h.s. playoff game where he pulled down 20 plus rebounds. What Porter lacks in size and strength as a rebounder, he makes up for with length, instincts and effort.

[jeffsays]

I feel like Otto has gotten bigger since the start of the season. I would like to see him put on some more muscle over the summer.

[stevemcqueen1]

Nice little article about Porter in the Post. Probably going to get lost in the excitement of the playoff games, but it's worth a quick read: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wi ... story.html

My favorite part is the quotes about him from Al Harrington.

Who he reminds me of is Shawn Marion with a jump shot...

...He’s incredible rebounding the basketball, and I think he’ll end up being a great defender with the frame he’s got. I expect him to play major minutes on this team next year no matter who’s here.

I like listening to the stuff Gortat and Harrington say about Porter and the other guys on the team. They strike me as thoughtful guys that see beyond their own situations, really see the big picture. I could see them having careers in coaching when their playing days are over.

I also like that Shawn Marion comparison. It gives you an idea of Porter's potential value and an important role he could play for the team down the line. When Porter gets some man strength on him, I think he's really going to let us play small ball because of his uncharacteristically good rebounding ability just like Marion does for his teams. Only with a jumper, you've got a legit pick and pop floor spacing weapon too and not just a floor runner and hustle scorer.