Otto Porter

[GhostsOfGil]

From the post...

Rookie Otto Porter had an MRI on his right hip after Monday’s practice but the results have yet to be released. Porter hasn’t been sidelined with a strained right hip flexor since Sept. 14 but Coach Randy Wittman recently revealed that he is making progress. “He’s doing a little bit more,” Wittman said. “He’s not doing anything close to anything live, but he’s doing some shooting and some conditioning, up and down the floor, which is a positive. He hasn’t done that before.”

Ouch! Looks like he's weeks away.. all this from a slip on the court?

[sashae]

Presumably 2-3 weeks away.

[FreeBalling]

Witt was on 106.7 this morning. They asked Witt about Porter and he said they had to shut him down, even from just shooting because a set back.

Witt went on to say he has not coached him one day on the court and has no ETA on Porter return to practice.

The kid is going to be so far behind.


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[verbal8]

Witt was on 106.7 this morning. They were ask Witt about Porter and he said they had to shut him down, even from just shooting because a set back.

Witt went on to say he has not coached him one day on the court and has no ETA on Porter return to practice.

The kid is going to be so far behind.


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That is disappointing

[Dat2U]

Witt was on 106.7 this morning. They were ask Witt about Porter and he said they had to shut him down, even from just shooting because a set back.

Witt went on to say he has not coached him one day on the court and has no ETA on Porter return to practice.

The kid is going to be so far behind.


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Yikes... I don't think you could have possibly scripted a worst beginning for a high draft pick short of tearing an Achilles or ACL.

[Rafael122]

All this b/c he slipped on the court, smh.

[dckingsfan]

I know this is probably over the top but... it might be a good idea to just have him work on his body this year.

To be effective the league, he is going to have to get stronger - IMO. Since we don't have a glaring hole at SF and he is behind the 8 ball in terms of being able to contribute this season - why not just give up the ghost for 13-14 and look forward to 14-15.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I know this is probably over the top but... it might be a good idea to just have him work on his body this year.

To be effective the league, he is going to have to get stronger - IMO. Since we don't have a glaring hole at SF and he is behind the 8 ball in terms of being able to contribute this season - why not just give up the ghost for 13-14 and look forward to 14-15.

Work on his body and play in the D-League.

[nuposse04]

I'm still semi optimistic. He is a fairly intelligent player. Luckily Randy isn't the type to bury young players because they're simply young like Flip. Still probably a couple weeks assuming nothing is actually damaged.

[dckingsfan]

I know this is probably over the top but... it might be a good idea to just have him work on his body this year.

To be effective the league, he is going to have to get stronger - IMO. Since we don't have a glaring hole at SF and he is behind the 8 ball in terms of being able to contribute this season - why not just give up the ghost for 13-14 and look forward to 14-15.

Work on his body and play in the D-League.

do you think it is playing time or working on his body that he needs - I wonder if a trainer could be sent with him to the D league?

[dckingsfan]

I'm still semi optimistic. He is a fairly intelligent player. Luckily Randy isn't the type to bury young players because they're simply young like Flip. Still probably a couple weeks assuming nothing is actually damaged.

True - guess we need to just keep our fingers crossed.

[nuposse04]

I do agree with the sentiment that some D-League burn will provide good things..get him some significant playing time, conditioning, and hopefully some confidence. I just hope he isn't too prideful to think that is beneath him. Although I imagine most top 5 picks would scoff at the notion.

[Nivek]

When I've talked with folks with the Wizards about why they don't make greater use of the D-League, the "reason" has almost always been something along the lines of this: We've had some injuries or some depth issues and didn't have enough bodies for practice so we wanted to keep Player X with the NBA team."

Unless the team has several more injuries at SF, I don't see this being a valid reason for not letting Porter make his return in the D-League. Basically, they'd need at least two injuries from the group of Webster, Ariza, Rice and Harrington for the "we don't have enough bodies for practice" reason to have any merit.

[Rafael122]

When I've talked with folks with the Wizards about why they don't make greater use of the D-League, the "reason" has almost always been something along the lines of this: We've had some injuries or some depth issues and didn't have enough bodies for practice so we wanted to keep Player X with the NBA team."

Unless the team has several more injuries at SF, I don't see this being a valid reason for not letting Porter make his return in the D-League. Basically, they'd need at least two injuries from the group of Webster, Ariza, Rice and Harrington for the "we don't have enough bodies for practice" reason to have any merit.

Isn't the D-League the Wizards are affiliated with controlled by 2 other NBA teams? What Ted needs to do is buy one of those teams, move them to Fairfax, and install a system that is run by the pro team. Otherwise what's the point of sending Otto down there? What's he going to learn? What bad habits will he pick up?

[Nivek]

I agree completely that the Wizards should have its own minor league team. I think the league is trying to move to a D-League system where each team has its own affiliate.

I don't see much reason to be concerned about Porter picking up bad habits or not learning the Wizards specific system. Offensive systems in the NBA are pretty similar when you start breaking them apart, and the stuff they do in the D-League is pretty generic anyway. It'd be nice if he was going to a true Wizards affiliate where he could be taught the team's terminology and whatnot, but I think the experience could still be valuable.

Positives to me: A good opportunity to re-acclimate to playing games without getting ripped by NBA players and without the stress and pressure of trying to figure out the pro game in the midst of a playoff race. Get 8-10 games in the D-League, then come up. Sure, he'll get ripped when he gets to the NBA and he'll still have the playoff race stress, but at least he'll have some live game experience first.

Another: years ago, I wrote a story about Torraye Braggs. One of the things he talked about was how it would have been good for guys like Kwame Brown and some of the team's other young players to have a D-League experience. Not because of the hoops, but for the opportunity to have a rougher, less glamorous experience, and for the opportunity to meet guys like Braggs -- who at that point had played with 17 professional teams in 7 different countries in a 6-year span. Basically, the chance to see guys KILLING themselves to get a shot at the NBA and be not quite good enough. It's the kind of thing that could help a guy see how lucky he is and provide motivation to work hard on developing his body and his game.

[Dark Faze]

There's never been an indication that live games and D-League scrubs is a better way to get better than attending games, being in the huddle, scrimmaging and practicing against actual NBA players.

Just give him the reps in practice, start with low minute allocations off the bench and start increasing from there.

[Upper Decker]

Isn't the D-League for 2nd round fodder, undrafted free agents, and outright busts; i.e. Hasheem Thabeet?

The D-League doesn't seem like a place for the "Most NBA-ready" #3 overall draft pick.

Seems like tbe board is slowly justifying this guy into mediocrity.

The #3 pick in any draft, no matter how piss-poor it is, should be an immediate contributor.

[Nivek]

There's never been an indication that live games and D-League scrubs is a better way to get better than attending games, being in the huddle, scrimmaging and practicing against actual NBA players.

Just give him the reps in practice, start with low minute allocations off the bench and start increasing from there.

Yeah, I think that's valid too. I wrote a piece on player development a few years ago. Interviewed a lot of people. There was a pretty significant divide among execs, coaches and player development guys about the best way. Biggest thing I took away was that there was no "best practices" guide. There was a pretty strong sentiment from front office guys that they wished there was less of a stigma about sending guys to the D-League.

[Nivek]

Isn't the D-League for 2nd round fodder, undrafted free agents, and outright busts; i.e. Hasheem Thabeet?

The D-League doesn't seem like a place for the "Most NBA-ready" #3 overall draft pick.

Seems like tbe board is slowly justifying this guy into mediocrity.

The #3 pick in any draft, no matter how piss-poor it is, should be an immediate contributor.

I'm talking about using D-League for injury rehab. Sorta like how they do it in baseball where even long-established veterans make some starts in the minor leagues before playing in Major League games.

I agree the #3 pick should be a contributor quickly, and I think Porter would be if he hadn't hurt his hip.

[Rafael122]

Agreed, if Porter had been healthy, I'd feel a lot better about or bench situation.