Otto Porter

[willbcocks]

Evan Turner can't shoot and wasn''t quick enough to be a pg, so he was drafted to be a playmaking, point-forward. That's a very demanding position because, unless you're very very good (LBJ), you don't fit a traditional position. The idea was that he was so skilled and strong that he could make it work. Now we find out that Turner's not quite good enough, and as a result he's a tweener that doesn't fit easily into most lineups, and no one will adjust their lineup to make him fit. And he has below average length for the position, which is a killer for players who aren't stars.

Otto, on the other hand, is a pure SF who you could plug in as the three on any team and he'll be fine. Those are the safest players to draft. Once you check that box, you look at the physical tools--does he have the physical tools to play the position? Obviously he does, and in my book they are very good. He has exceptional length and is strong enough for the 3 slot. He's fairly athletic.

He averaged 1.5 turnovers despite scoring 16 points and getting 2.7 assists. That's Beal-like. 42% from three, 5 FTA per game, 48% from the field--those are very efficient scoring numbers that he got at the number one option. Efficiency, low turnovers, high-volume, gets to the line and shoots threes--what's not to like on offense?

He will at least be a good and willing defender. He might become an excellent defender.

And he's one of the youngest guys in the draft and highly coachable. What's not to like? That his vertical is only 35 inches? His well-roundedness reminds me of Beal's, which is a good thing.

[queridiculo]

I would have preferred either Noel or Len at that spot, but it's tough to argue with this pick when you consider what Porter brings to the table.

He's a hard worker that plays defense, rebounds, passes and can stick the mid range jumper.

Even if he doesn't turn into a star, he's the type of glue guy that any team needs to be successful.

What I'm going to judge this pick on mostly is by how Noel and Len turn out, and what the Wizards strategy is going forward to address the center position.

If Washington can somehow manage to free up enough cap space to bring Cousins on board next year, watch out, this would be a lethal team.

[rockymac52]

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.

+1. I think that's a very realistic expectation for his statistical production after he settles in. Possibly only 12 PPG instead of 14, but really, what's the big difference? I'd predict 13 PPG, 6 RPG, and 3 APG on efficient shooting, to go along with good defense. I'd be very happy with that. Those are Nic Batum numbers. Batum just got a max contract last summer (granted, it might be one of the worst max contracts, but still, clearly he's valuable).

[Upper Decker]

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

That's what I expect from Porter, but if you look deeper into Turners stats you'll see his TS% stinks, his WS% stinks, his PER stinks, his on-off point differential stinks, and he's a non-factor from 3 because he doens't shoot enough from there. Basically he's one of the primary reasons why Philly decided to blow it up, becuase he's a bust as a #2 pick.

[doclinkin]

Not similar. Evan Turner suffered because if he's asked to play without the ball he's got nothing. Okay, a little rebounding. But no real jumper.

There is already a role for what Porter does on our team. He moves well without the ball, passes to the cutter or the open corner man, hits from the high-post and passes well from there, doesn't over-dribble. Can hit off the screen or the pick or the catch and shoot of whatever kind. Has a little bit of low-post game if he's got a mismatch. Truth is Georgetown was a good training ground for what he'll be asked to do here. They're big on movement and passing to set up the assist, hockey assists. IN fact what he does poorly: hit off the dribble, is a weakness that is miniized in this offense since Wall and Nene are the ones mostly holding the ball and making the pass to the cutter.

Otto Porter can play a Rip Hamilton/Reggie Miller role easily simply by staying in motion in some sets. Or camp in the corner to keep defenses honest, hitting the corner J or sliding backdoor if left unwatched.

On defense: he's not footslow, just awkward, but keeps a good stance, active hands, good footwork and positioning. He won't be a stopper, but will slow you down and make you work, not a liability. He can guard some 2's by playing back, and will put in decent effort against all but the nastiest SF's. IN a good scheme he'll be a useful player. Better defender than Martell Webster, if not as good as Trevor Ariza. Ultimately I see him as a player between these two in ability and effect. A good starter, on a solid team. Still helps our depth regardless since he's a better option out the gate than last years' versions of Singleton, Vesely, and so on.

[doclinkin]

Nic Batum is a good comparison. Yes.

[Upper Decker]

Evan Turner can't shoot and wasn''t quick enough to be a pg, so he was drafted to be a playmaking, point-forward. That's a very demanding position because, unless you're very very good (LBJ), you don't fit a traditional position. The idea was that he was so skilled and strong that he could make it work. Now we find out that Turner's not quite good enough, and as a result he's a tweener that doesn't fit easily into most lineups, and no one will adjust their lineup to make him fit. And he has below average length for the position, which is a killer for players who aren't stars.

Otto, on the other hand, is a pure SF who you could plug in as the three on any team and he'll be fine. Those are the safest players to draft. Once you check that box, you look at the physical tools--does he have the physical tools to play the position? Obviously he does, and in my book they are very good. He has exceptional length and is strong enough for the 3 slot. He's fairly athletic.

He averaged 1.5 turnovers despite scoring 16 points and getting 2.7 assists. That's Beal-like. 42% from three, 5 FTA per game, 48% from the field--those are very efficient scoring numbers that he got at the number one option. Efficiency, low turnovers, high-volume, gets to the line and shoots threes--what's not to like on offense?

He will at least be a good and willing defender. He might become an excellent defender.

And he's one of the youngest guys in the draft and highly coachable. What's not to like? That his vertical is only 35 inches? His well-roundedness reminds me of Beal's, which is a good thing.

These are all good points, willbcocks, what I'm not sure I like is the fact that Porter doesn't have one thing that sticks out as a competitive advantage NBA skill. What is the one thing you know Otto will be better at than his counterpart? If a defender gets side tracked for one second how exactly will Otto kill them for that mistake? If you look at Wall he has elite elite speed and athletic ability. If a defender loses focus for one second Wall’s at the rim for a lay-up. Beal is an elite shooter. If a defender slags off one second Beal will nail a stone cold jumper in his face. If all else fails with either of these guys you at least know they’ll make it because they have one skill that’ll be a competitive advantage over the guy they’re playing. For Porter I just don’t see it. I don’t see him perpetually burning a guy for leaving him open for a jumper, I don’t think Porter has a dribble drive game that will be a threat even if a defender slags off to help with Nene in the post.

Listen, I know I sound like a hater. I’m not hating on the Porter pick because ultimately I think it was the pick that had to be made, I’m hating on the draft more so because the collective options were pedestrian compared to previous years. With that said, I don’t see a budding star in Porter. In fact I don’t see him as a key guy (option 1 2 or 3) on a championship caliber team because I’m not sure what he brings other than being “smart” or “well-rounded”.

[asindc]

I see Porter as more of a Jeff Green type with a bit less athleticism. I'll take that.

[Upper Decker]

Nic Batum is a good comparison. Yes.

The difference is Batum was the #24 pick and Otto was the #3 pick. That alone comes with greater expectations. Honestly I'd be thrilled with Batum like production, but right now Batum is the 3rd best player on a pretty lousy team. Right now Otto projects to be the 3rd best player on the Wizards so I'm not totally elated about the future after this pick. In order for Otto to become Batum like he'll need to work on his deep shot and become a better individual defender. Batum has very good lateral quickness, that's one of my bigger concerns for Porter.

[rockymac52]

Nic Batum is a good comparison. Yes.

The difference is Batum was the #24 pick and Otto was the #3 pick. That alone comes with greater expectations. Honestly I'd be thrilled with Batum like production, but right now Batum is the 3rd best player on a pretty lousy team. Right now Otto projects to be the 3rd best player on the Wizards so I'm not totally elated about the future after this pick. In order for Otto to become Batum like he'll need to work on his deep shot and become a better individual defender. Batum has very good lateral quickness, that's one of my bigger concerns for Porter.

Who cares where they were drafted? Forget about the fact that Porter went 3rd. It no longer has any relevance. All that matters is how good he is.

From what I can tell, your argument for why Porter wasn't a good pick is that he projects to be our 3rd best player, and if he's putting up Batum type stats, that's not going to be enough for our team to win a title. I don't necessarily agree 100%, but even if that's true, that's not Porter's fault! Don't take it out on him. Maybe we need to add another big piece or two in the future, that's fine. We will continue onward and try to keep getting better in the meantime, and if and when that opportunity presents itself, then we'll pursue it. We aren't realistically going to ever become contenders overnight, and very few teams ever do. It's a process. We had the team we had this past season, and then we got the 3rd pick, so what should we do? We draft a good player, and we add him to our roster, and hopefully we'll improve in the standings as a result. We haven't won 30 games in 5 years, how do you really expect us to suddenly become a title contender? Outside of signing LeBron next summer there really isn't any way for that to happen.

What you're saying is basically the same as if you tried to argue that Kevin Love is not a great player because he's the best player on his team and they are a lottery team. Why is that his fault?

[Higga]

Love the pick. I've wanted Porter for 6+ months. He may not be a superstar but he's a safe bet to be a good, solid player. A trio of Wall/Beal/Porter is a nice young corps to build around. Noel would have been an incredibly risky pick, do you really trust our medical team and player development program to get the best out of him? Ditto with Len.

[Dat2U]

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.

Turner had some red flags as a prospect that Porter didn't. I said this at the time, Turner would have to learn or adjust to playing off the ball because he was the defacto PG at Ohio State. He wasn't going to be a PG on the NBA level because his handle wasn't really tight enough nor did he have the quickness to defend 1s either.

The biggest flag was the TOs. Turner's assist percentage was twice that of Porter's but his TO percentage was also twice what Porter's was! Every one out of five possessions Turner had, ended in a TO. If your frosh, that's something you can work on. If your a 21 yr old junior like Turner was, that's probably a bad sign that many of us didn't pay enough attention to, including me.

Porter isn't nearly as ball dominant as Turner was and takes much better care of the rock when it is in his hands. He's also demonstrated to be a better long range shooter than Turner. Porter made .422% of his college 3s on 3.3 attempts. Turner made .364 of his 3s on just 1.8 attempts. In retrospect, Porter looks like the better prospect. He's also over a year younger than Turner at the time of the draft.

[Wizardspride]

Otto Porter's press conference at 2pm.

http://www.csnwashington.com/content/csn-live-stream

[Kanyewest]

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.

I actually think Booker's response was to this tweet.

HELLO my name is @JohnCTownsend

Lotto Porter wants to wear No. 35. You gonna take that disrespect from a rookie, @35_Fitz?
7:58 PM - 27 Jun 2013

[doclinkin]

Nic Batum is a good comparison. Yes.

The difference is Batum was the #24 pick and Otto was the #3 pick. That alone comes with greater expectations..

Maybe, but if we get anything like that production it's still a bargain contract. If you could get Batum for a couple million dollars less than the Mid-Level Exception you'd snap him up in an instant.

This was not a normal year, so you get what you get. Really the only question is whether later players prove significantly better, or if Porter was the best fit with this squad. I think this squad will prove a fun squad to root for, though agree that Porter may not be world shakingly great, I think he'll be good out the gate and will work hard to improve every year. Won't embarrass you to read his name in the news.

[JRYCRL]

Otto Porter's standing vertical was 27" which was the lowest of any player other than 6'11" Kelly Olynik in the first round.

My issue with him is his lack of strength and leaping ability. Durrant was weak up top but has great legs.

[doclinkin]

Otto Porter's standing vertical was 27" which was the lowest of any player other than 6'11" Kelly Olynik in the first round.

My issue with him is his lack of strength and leaping ability. Durrant was weak up top but has great legs.

KDs 'great legs' only managed a standing vert of 26". Try again.

[asindc]

Otto Porter's standing vertical was 27" which was the lowest of any player other than 6'11" Kelly Olynik in the first round.

My issue with him is his lack of strength and leaping ability. Durrant was weak up top but has great legs.

Yeah, but how well does he play basketball?

[DCZards]

Nic Batum is a good comparison. Yes.

What Batum lacks is something I consider to be one of Porter's most valuable assets-- his ability to pass and facilitate the offense. He'll be a lot better than Batum at getting open looks for his teammates.

[No-Man]

We're getting Kawhi Leonard/Tayshaun Prince. Relax fellas!

Yea well, you already have a terrific fit with Webster, and Ariza behind him

this is a homer, safe pick from EG, not surprised, but don't like it either.

Noel was the pick, pretty damn obvious, he would have been a TREMENDOUS fit with Nenê, both in O and D.