Otto Porter

[doclinkin]

While in high school, Porter was president of the history club, a subject that he says “fascinates” him and contributed to him attending college in the nation’s capital. And in recent weeks, has taken time studying past NBA greats and has grown especially fond of Hall of Famer Larry Bird, who shares similar rural roots and won three NBA championships with the Boston Celtics.

“Tremendous player,” Porter said. “Had a lot of skills. He might not have been the most athletic person, but he can beat you in so many other ways and I try to study his passing ability, vision up the court. His ability to get a shot off. I bring a lot of versatility to the table. Defend. Rebound. Score. But also be a leader.”

Actually not a half-bad role model for him. Bird was never the strongest guy on the court, had a groundbound game but was a workaholic and technician and never cared about his stats more than win/loss record. Opie could learn alot from the Hick from French Lick.

Link.

[nate33]

I'm nervous about Otto Porter. I fear that he is a jack of all trades but a master of none. In the NBA, those kinds of players tend to fail, unless they're so good at everything that they can excel as a primary ball handler.

If he's really good at everything, then he becomes the next Scottie Pippen or at least a Paul George. But I consider it more likely that he is merely okay at everything and becomes the next Evan Turner.

[TheKingOfVa360]

Good kid. All-around ability. Hoya baby. It's hard not to be down with OPP. Would have loved Noel--and passing on him might come back to bite EG on the a**-- but Noel is dropping for some reason.

I agree, glad to have a Hoya on the Wizards

[Dat2U]

I'm nervous about Otto Porter. I fear that he is a jack of all trades but a master of none. In the NBA, those kinds of players tend to fail, unless they're so good at everything that they can excel as a primary ball handler.

If he's really good at everything, then he becomes the next Scottie Pippen or at least a Paul George. But I consider it more likely that he is merely okay at everything and becomes the next Evan Turner.

I'm not. At the very least I think his worse case scenario is that he's going to have a Tayshaun Prince type career but honestly think he's better than that. I think he does everything well at an NBA level with the exception of shooting off the dribble. That's the one skill he really needs to pour himself into, that may mean he needs to clean up his form a bit to get the consistency in his release. I'm confident he'll work on the aspect and his skill level will continue to grow.

[TheKingOfVa360]

Booker sounded like a whiny b*tch on Twitter. Otto already said if someone had the number, he'd wear 22.

What did Booker say

[Soup's Uncle]

He said "Disrespect" in regards to Otto saying he wanted 35. He said one other thing too. Can't remember. Sarah Kogod put an article up on the Bog. Check it out.

[tontoz]

I'm nervous about Otto Porter. I fear that he is a jack of all trades but a master of none. In the NBA, those kinds of players tend to fail, unless they're so good at everything that they can excel as a primary ball handler.

If he's really good at everything, then he becomes the next Scottie Pippen or at least a Paul George. But I consider it more likely that he is merely okay at everything and becomes the next Evan Turner.

I think the key issue is whether or not he can make 3s. If he can he should be fine.

[Ruzious]

I'm nervous about Otto Porter. I fear that he is a jack of all trades but a master of none. In the NBA, those kinds of players tend to fail, unless they're so good at everything that they can excel as a primary ball handler.

If he's really good at everything, then he becomes the next Scottie Pippen or at least a Paul George. But I consider it more likely that he is merely okay at everything and becomes the next Evan Turner.

I'm not. At the very least I think his worse case scenario is that he's going to have a Tayshaun Prince type career but honestly think he's better than that. I think he does everything well at an NBA level with the exception of shooting off the dribble. That's the one skill he really needs to pour himself into, that may mean he needs to clean up his form a bit to get the consistency in his release. I'm confident he'll work on the aspect and his skill level will continue to grow.

He's not going to fail because he has a great feel/understanding for the game - much like Beal - along with good physical tools. The Beal and Porter combo will be very good because they're such good decision-makers at both ends of the court. Having both your wings like that should add synergy. And that makes them great complements to Wall.

[Soup's Uncle]

You know what was awesome about the Otto pick, he seemed genuinely proud to be picked by us. He was practically in tears when interviewed by Battier. I love that passion, and he's not affraid to show it. Also, he's super young, and I think he has room to improve on an already solid game.

At least we know he's gonna work at it. For a lot of players in the league, that's a lot to ask. But Otto will put in the time to try to get better. Will he get better? Who knows. But he seems like a smart kid with a good head on his shoulders, good pedigree, local ties.

You wanna root for this kid.

[Saqs]

I'm nervous about Otto Porter. I fear that he is a jack of all trades but a master of none. In the NBA, those kinds of players tend to fail, unless they're so good at everything that they can excel as a primary ball handler.

If he's really good at everything, then he becomes the next Scottie Pippen or at least a Paul George. But I consider it more likely that he is merely okay at everything and becomes the next Evan Turner.

I think the key issue is whether or not he can make 3s. If he can he should be fine.

He'll have to improve for sure there. I think more important for him will be consistently hitting mid range jumpers as his length should give him a leg up on most defenders while being contested. The corner 3 should definitely be a thing he works on tho.

[GhostsOfGil]

I'm nervous about Otto Porter. I fear that he is a jack of all trades but a master of none. In the NBA, those kinds of players tend to fail, unless they're so good at everything that they can excel as a primary ball handler.

If he's really good at everything, then he becomes the next Scottie Pippen or at least a Paul George. But I consider it more likely that he is merely okay at everything and becomes the next Evan Turner.

I think the key issue is whether or not he can make 3s. If he can he should be fine.

He'll have to improve for sure there. I think more important for him will be consistently hitting mid range jumpers as his length should give him a leg up on most defenders while being contested. The corner 3 should definitely be a thing he works on tho.

Ya I've been looking for his sophomore corner 3% but can't find it. Anyone seen stats on that?

[sfam]

I'm nervous about Otto Porter. I fear that he is a jack of all trades but a master of none. In the NBA, those kinds of players tend to fail, unless they're so good at everything that they can excel as a primary ball handler.

If he's really good at everything, then he becomes the next Scottie Pippen or at least a Paul George. But I consider it more likely that he is merely okay at everything and becomes the next Evan Turner.

I don't know that I think Evan Turner is good at everything. He almost seems mediocre at everything. I think Porter does better than that, and especially seems to be a smarter player. I think he turns into a solid starter. I would have prefered a chance at an all-star but those meddling kids in Cleveland foiled those plans, as did, perhaps Noel's knee.

That's really the one to watch. If Noel explodes in a few years, we'll be looking back at this pick as a mistake. But aside from that, I think today at least I would have preferred Porter over Zeller, so I won't be able to fault EG too much if Zeller explodes.

[Upper Decker]

I'm nervous about Otto Porter. I fear that he is a jack of all trades but a master of none. In the NBA, those kinds of players tend to fail, unless they're so good at everything that they can excel as a primary ball handler.

If he's really good at everything, then he becomes the next Scottie Pippen or at least a Paul George. But I consider it more likely that he is merely okay at everything and becomes the next Evan Turner.

These are my thoughts exactly. The thing about Porter is I don't think he'll ever be more than the 4th wheel on a good team. As it stands Wall will either be 1a or 1b with another star level player. Beal will be the 3rd wheel and Porter will be the 4th guy. That's incredibly disappointing for a #3 overall pick, however, this was a poor draft so it is what it is.

I just don't think he has any true skill that'll be his calling card. In a previous thread someone mentioned 'elite team defense'. Okay, but those players can be taken in the second round. To Nates point, I think ball handling is his biggest weakness so he'll never be able to be a primary guy.

I think we'll learn pretty quickly that Len should have been the guy. It took Drummond all of 10 games before people realized he went way too low last year. The problem is there's more risk with Len so I can see why EG didn't draft him and went the safe route with Porter.

I think Porter will peak as a 12/5/2 guy because I don't know how he'll score in the NBA. I don't really care for him to shoot a ton of mid-range jumpers like he did in college. That's the worst shot in the NBA. The only reason to shoot mid-range jumpers is for defenders to respect your drive and Porter isn't a dribble drive threat at all. That said I feel like its a 75% likelihood he'll become a 12/5/2 guy with solid defense. I wouldn't be surprised if in the future he becomes a PF because his poor lateral quickness.

[Upper Decker]

I'm nervous about Otto Porter. I fear that he is a jack of all trades but a master of none. In the NBA, those kinds of players tend to fail, unless they're so good at everything that they can excel as a primary ball handler.

If he's really good at everything, then he becomes the next Scottie Pippen or at least a Paul George. But I consider it more likely that he is merely okay at everything and becomes the next Evan Turner.

I don't know that I think Evan Turner is good at everything. He almost seems mediocre at everything. I think Porter does better than that, and especially seems to be a smarter player. I think he turns into a solid starter. I would have prefered a chance at an all-star but those meddling kids in Cleveland foiled those plans, as did, perhaps Noel's knee.

That's really the one to watch. If Noel explodes in a few years, we'll be looking back at this pick as a mistake. But aside from that, I think today at least I would have preferred Porter over Zeller, so I won't be able to fault EG too much if Zeller explodes.

It's such revisionist history to say Evan Turner is mediocre at everything because he was drafted at #2 for a reason. Coming out of college people agreed he wasn't elite athletically and his shot was just average, but he was well above average at everything else...playmaking, ball handling, rebounding, passing. After seeing him fail for 3 years in the pro's it's easy to say he's mediocre, but coming out he was considered a better prospect than Monroe, Favors, and Cousins. I believe at least two of Monroe, Favors, or Cousins would have been picked ahead of Porter if they were all in the same draft.

[Floater]

We were in a position where we couldn't screw this pick up, and we didn't. That might have happened with Noel. We guaranteed to have a player whose floor is a solid role player. He'll help this team for years and will make the Wizards an even more unselfish and efficient team.

[sfam]

I'm nervous about Otto Porter. I fear that he is a jack of all trades but a master of none. In the NBA, those kinds of players tend to fail, unless they're so good at everything that they can excel as a primary ball handler.

If he's really good at everything, then he becomes the next Scottie Pippen or at least a Paul George. But I consider it more likely that he is merely okay at everything and becomes the next Evan Turner.

I don't know that I think Evan Turner is good at everything. He almost seems mediocre at everything. I think Porter does better than that, and especially seems to be a smarter player. I think he turns into a solid starter. I would have prefered a chance at an all-star but those meddling kids in Cleveland foiled those plans, as did, perhaps Noel's knee.

That's really the one to watch. If Noel explodes in a few years, we'll be looking back at this pick as a mistake. But aside from that, I think today at least I would have preferred Porter over Zeller, so I won't be able to fault EG too much if Zeller explodes.

It's such revisionist history to say Evan Turner is mediocre at everything because he was drafted at #2 for a reason. Coming out of college people agreed he wasn't elite athletically and his shot was just average, but he was well above average at everything else...playmaking, ball handling, rebounding, passing. After seeing him fail for 3 years in the pro's it's easy to say he's mediocre, but coming out he was considered a better prospect than Monroe, Favors, and Cousins. I believe at least two of Monroe, Favors, or Cousins would have been picked ahead of Porter if they were all in the same draft.

Oh I agree that Turner was very highly rated. I'm only saying that he turned out to be mediocre. We don't know if its just that he had no real skills, or if he just hasn't worked on his game as hard as he should have. That Turner failed I don't think means that Porter will. If Porter is smarter and a harder worker, he should be better than that.

[mhd]

I had my prospect ratings for that year as Wall-Favors-Cousins.

[Saqs]

For the Turner comparisons, would peeps be disappointed in OP if he's averaging 13pts & 6rebs in 2016?

[doclinkin]

One thing to remember is that, while NBA defenders are big and fast, Porter had nobody else shouldering the scoring load in Gtown. Here he's the 3rd banana (or 4th after John, Nene, Beal) as far as teams priorities in whom to guard. In the NBA he's got a quiet game that will make you pay but nobody is going to gameplan specifically to take him away. He's going to get open looks, passers will find him, and he's going to knock them down. I don't care about his shooting motion, he'll hit an open shot, something he had to work harder to find in the NCAA when teams could load up to deprive him of the ball or touches. Yes he'll get fewer touches, but he may prove more efficient once the team has developed chemistry and he takes over the starting 3spot.

I look at his 3fg% in light of the John Wall effect: Webster had a career year gunning outside shots next to John. Formerly streaky Ariza showed solid consistency. Beal was hitting gutterballs until John returned, then suddenly he was Ray Allen redux. Once Opie is playing next to Beal and John, he too may be hitting at that close to 40% clip they each managed playing next to the starting PG.

Rebounds and steals have demonstrably been shown as the stats that do translate to the NBA. Here he'll share rebounding duties with other proficient boardsmen, but again should be loose to get long bounces, and he's both a crafty and skilled rebounder.

Point being. It's not inconceivable that Otto approaches his college stats in the NBA. Not initially of course, but eventually. 14/5rb/4ast/1stl on efficient shooting is not a bad output. I'd be happy with that.

[Upper Decker]

I don't know that I think Evan Turner is good at everything. He almost seems mediocre at everything. I think Porter does better than that, and especially seems to be a smarter player. I think he turns into a solid starter. I would have prefered a chance at an all-star but those meddling kids in Cleveland foiled those plans, as did, perhaps Noel's knee.

That's really the one to watch. If Noel explodes in a few years, we'll be looking back at this pick as a mistake. But aside from that, I think today at least I would have preferred Porter over Zeller, so I won't be able to fault EG too much if Zeller explodes.

It's such revisionist history to say Evan Turner is mediocre at everything because he was drafted at #2 for a reason. Coming out of college people agreed he wasn't elite athletically and his shot was just average, but he was well above average at everything else...playmaking, ball handling, rebounding, passing. After seeing him fail for 3 years in the pro's it's easy to say he's mediocre, but coming out he was considered a better prospect than Monroe, Favors, and Cousins. I believe at least two of Monroe, Favors, or Cousins would have been picked ahead of Porter if they were all in the same draft.

Oh I agree that Turner was very highly rated. I'm only saying that he turned out to be mediocre. We don't know if its just that he had no real skills, or if he just hasn't worked on his game as hard as he should have. That Turner failed I don't think means that Porter will. If Porter is smarter and a harder worker, he should be better than that.

I agree with this, sfam, Turner may have rested on his laurels of being a #2 guy and not developed. However, I think there are still too many similarities between their games before entering the pro's to ignore the fact that Turner has failed and not have serious concerns about Porter.