Otto Porter

[TGW]

I guess it's quantity over quality. I'm going with quality.

I don't think Len qualifies as "quality" just yet. All those guys right now are clearly better than him...so far.

[Illmatic12]

Alex Len, the guy I probably would have drafted with the pick, is starting to play better. He still has a lot of work to do but he's showing signs.

Last year was a great year to draft a center. I wanted to come out of the draft with at least one of the centers available. Grunfeld, as usual, showed no imagination with the pick.

Agreed, really wanted them to trade down for two of the bigs... probably wasn't feasible - but I would have liked them to try.

Forget trading down. I thought Len was worthy of being selected at #3 based off his upside alone.

I think we're starting to see that upside.

Len dropped because of injury issues. Look at his injury history, it's not good. Really hope he does well in the league though.

[Wizardspride]

I guess it's quantity over quality. I'm going with quality.

I don't think Len qualifies as "quality" just yet. All those guys right now are clearly better than him...so far.

You're right...but I'm betting on his upside.

[Wizardspride]

Agreed, really wanted them to trade down for two of the bigs... probably wasn't feasible - but I would have liked them to try.

Forget trading down. I thought Len was worthy of being selected at #3 based off his upside alone.

I think we're starting to see that upside.

Len dropped because of injury issues. Look at his injury history, it's not good. Really hope he does well in the league though.

His injury history is one major thing: A stress reaction in his foot.

Don't get me wrong. It's risky when a big guy has foot issues but it's not like he tore his ACL multiple times.

[dckingsfan]

Forget trading down. I thought Len was worthy of being selected at #3 based off his upside alone.

I think we're starting to see that upside.

I would MUCH rather have taken two of Plumlee, Dieng, Gobert, Olynyk.

Maybe.

Personally, I think Len will ultimately prove to be better than all those guys.

I guess it's quantity over quality. I'm going with quality.

Got it - I think he will end up 4 of 5...

[Illmatic12]

Forget trading down. I thought Len was worthy of being selected at #3 based off his upside alone.

I think we're starting to see that upside.

Len dropped because of injury issues. Look at his injury history, it's not good. Really hope he does well in the league though.

His injury history is one major thing: A stress reaction in his foot.

Don't get me wrong. It's risky when a big guy has foot issues but it's not like he tore his ACL multiple times.

He had surgeries on both of his ankles last season which is why they shut him down. And he's broken his finger twice (not that it's a big deal, but these injuries are all just since being drafted)

You're right that it's not as bad as an ACL, but serious foot/ankle injuries to big men have been known to linger. It's certainly a red flag until he proves he can stay healthy for an extended stretch.

[Nivek]

My concern with Len was that he wasn't all that productive in college.

He's had some nice games, but he's had some bad ones too (which is completely normal for young players). As of last night, he rates about average in my stuff -- PPA of 94 where average = 100 and higher is better. He's been extremely efficient this season, albeit very low usage. His defense rates as subpar in my metric. His rebounding is okay, but he fouls an awful lot.

All in all, not bad for a 21 year old. He's doing some good stuff that he can build on.

[dobrojim]

I'm impressed you had OP over 100 (iirc). Not bad for such a young and inexperienced player.
Better than Beal again if memory serves.

[stevemcqueen1]

Compare Porter to Noel, that's the guy the majority of the board wanted. And the majority of the fan base, judging by how quickly everyone seemed to sour on Otto after he missed so much time last season.

I think Otto ends up a much better two way player than Noel and that that was predictable at the time of the draft. Otto is way ahead of Noel right now.

The one guy I thought might make us have some buyer's remorse with Otto was Cody Zeller, but that hasn't been the case and I don't think it will be in the end.

I think Otto ends up being the best player and pick out of that top ten. Oladipo is pretty good, but I think Otto is better and has higher upside since he's the same age and has a true NBA position. I think he ends up being the best perimeter player in that class.

[Dark Faze]

I like Otto but you seriously want to offer that strong of an opinion of Porter over Noel given Noel is recovering from an ACL and playing for a historically bad team right now?

[tontoz]

I watched Len in college and wanted no part of him. He just didn't look that interested in basketball. Not much of a motor. You can't teach desire.

[Wizardspride]

I watched Len in college and wanted no part of him. He just didn't look that interested in basketball. Not much of a motor. You can't teach desire.

Well judging from his play lately he suddenly got "desire".

Personally,I never thought Len had a lack of desire in college.

More like a lack strength and experience.

And the fact that he was playing with some crappy guards didn't help matters.

[tontoz]

I watched Len in college and wanted no part of him. He just didn't look that interested in basketball. Not much of a motor. You can't teach desire.

Well judging from his play lately he suddenly got "desire".

Personally,I never thought Len had a lack of desire in college.

More like a lack strength and experience.

And the fact that he was playing with some crappy guards didn't help matters.

I seriously doubt the Terps guard play was the reason for Len's anemic rebounding.

Not impressed by the SSST numbers either. It will take more than 2 good games to change my opinion of him. There have been stretches of games where Josh Smith was a good 3 point shooter. So what?

[Wizardspride]

I watched Len in college and wanted no part of him. He just didn't look that interested in basketball. Not much of a motor. You can't teach desire.

Well judging from his play lately he suddenly got "desire".

Personally,I never thought Len had a lack of desire in college.

More like a lack strength and experience.

And the fact that he was playing with some crappy guards didn't help matters.

I seriously doubt the Terps guard play was the reason for Len's anemic rebounding.

Not impressed by the SSST numbers either. It will take more than 2 good games to change my opinion of him. There have been stretches of games where Josh Smith was a good 3 point shooter. So what?

Fine.

[tontoz]

Dont get me wrong i am not rooting against him or anything. But he was pretty frustrating to watch in college. Maybe money will get him motivated.

The Terps guard play was pretty horrible though. Watching their games reminded me why i don't watch much college ball.

[Illmatic12]

Compare Porter to Noel, that's the guy the majority of the board wanted. And the majority of the fan base, judging by how quickly everyone seemed to sour on Otto after he missed so much time last season.

I think Otto ends up a much better two way player than Noel and that that was predictable at the time of the draft. Otto is way ahead of Noel right now.

The one guy I thought might make us have some buyer's remorse with Otto was Cody Zeller, but that hasn't been the case and I don't think it will be in the end.

I think Otto ends up being the best player and pick out of that top ten. Oladipo is pretty good, but I think Otto is better and has higher upside since he's the same age and has a true NBA position. I think he ends up being the best perimeter player in that class.

Disagree on Oladipo, he will be a beast. He's so explosive and draws a lot of fouls, plus plays great defense. His jumper keeps getting smoother just like Wall's did. In a couple years I feel like he's gonna be a Wade-lite at the SG position.

Otto could be a fringe All-Star caliber SF if he hits his ceiling, but he won't have that explosive scoring element that the super elite wings have.

[stevemcqueen1]

I like Otto but you seriously want to offer that strong of an opinion of Porter over Noel given Noel is recovering from an ACL and playing for a historically bad team right now?

I thought Porter was a better prospect and a better pick for us on draft day. Porter today is probably a better offensive player than Noel ever will be. And Porter is going to play defense too. Noel is young, but Noel just doesn't have any NBA caliber scoring tools.

[stevemcqueen1]

Disagree on Oladipo, he will be a beast. He's so explosive and draws a lot of fouls, plus plays great defense. His jumper keeps getting smoother just like Wall's did. In a couple years I feel like he's gonna be a Wade-lite at the SG position.

Otto could be a fringe All-Star caliber SF if he hits his ceiling, but he won't have that explosive scoring element that the super elite wings have.

You could be right about Oladipo. And I think you're right about Otto's scoring potential. But I don't think Oladipo has that scoring element that elite wings have either. He's a better athlete than Otto. But not by as much as you'd think. And Otto is a lot bigger than him. And Otto's scoring instincts and offensive skill level dwarf Oladipo's IMO. He's a better shooter from all parts of the floor. Oladipo is a more aggressive slasher, but that doesn't make up the gap in their overall effectiveness offensively, and I don't think Oladipo is an aggressive first option scorer by nature. Porter's offensive effectiveness has been astonishing so far. He's just not turning it over or missing shots at all.

The size difference is really at the key difference in value of each IMO. Oladipo is something of a combo guard that's on the short end for a 2. Otto is on the big end for a true wing, and he rebounds well enough and is long enough to eventually play some four. That makes him a real asset at the 3 that I think gives him the potential to actually be a more valuable defensive player than Oladipo as well.

I'd also point to Pierce as an example of what kind of ceiling Porter can have as a scorer. He won't ever be a first option in D.C. like Pierce was for basically his entire tenure in Boston. He won't come close to matching Pierce's volume. But he can be as effective a scorer as Pierce was, using a game predicated on instinct and very advanced offensive skill level too.

[stevemcqueen1]

Otto is going to come close to going 50-40-90 at some point. I don't think he ever gets to the 90, but I could see him getting to mid-80s from the line one day. Hell, the 50-40 will be the easy part for him.

[Illmatic12]

Disagree on Oladipo, he will be a beast. He's so explosive and draws a lot of fouls, plus plays great defense. His jumper keeps getting smoother just like Wall's did. In a couple years I feel like he's gonna be a Wade-lite at the SG position.

Otto could be a fringe All-Star caliber SF if he hits his ceiling, but he won't have that explosive scoring element that the super elite wings have.

You could be right about Oladipo. And I think you're right about Otto's scoring potential. But I don't think Oladipo has that scoring element that elite wings have either. He's a better athlete than Otto. But not by as much as you'd think. And Otto is a lot bigger than him. And Otto's scoring instincts and offensive skill level dwarf Oladipo's IMO. He's a better shooter from all parts of the floor. Oladipo is a more aggressive slasher, but that doesn't make up the gap in their overall effectiveness offensively, and I don't think Oladipo is an aggressive first option scorer by nature. Porter's offensive effectiveness has been astonishing so far. He's just not turning it over or missing shots at all.

The size difference is really at the key difference in value of each IMO. Oladipo is something of a combo guard that's on the short end for a 2. Otto is on the big end for a true wing, and he rebounds well enough and is long enough to eventually play some four. That makes him a real asset at the 3 that I think gives him the potential to actually be a more valuable defensive player than Oladipo as well.

I'd also point to Pierce as an example of what kind of ceiling Porter can have as a scorer. He won't ever be a first option in D.C. like Pierce was for basically his entire tenure in Boston. He won't come close to matching Pierce's volume. But he can be as effective a scorer as Pierce was, using a game predicated on instinct and very advanced offensive skill level too.

I agree with you on Otto's potential. He seems like he will be a very efficient offensive player. A 6'9 SF who gets you ~16/7/4 on great efficiency with great wing defense can be more valuable than a less efficient high-scoring guard. For example I'd rather have Kawhi Leonard than Demar Derozan. So you make a good point.