Otto Porter

[Illmatic12]

Well unless my eyes are deceiving me, Porter has been one of our best fastbreak finishers this season. He's not extremely athletic but it's hardly a 'problem'.. his lack of strength is more of an issue imo

Fast breaks go both ways. In the half court Porters first step is a problem too, on both ends.

And if you actually read the post i was responding steve claimed that Porter outran Leonard at the combine which is not even remotely accurate.

He's definitely not more athletic than Kawhi (who is a freak by every measurable standard)

But personally, I'm not worried about his athleticism preventing him from being a good player. Others are free to have their own concerns of course

[gtn130]

Well unless my eyes are deceiving me, Porter has been one of our best fastbreak finishers this season. He's not extremely athletic but it's hardly a 'problem'.. his lack of strength is more of an issue imo

Fast breaks go both ways. In the half court Porters first step is a problem too, on both ends.

And if you actually read the post i was responding steve claimed that Porter outran Leonard at the combine which is not even remotely accurate.

He's definitely not more athletic than Kawhi (who is a freak by every measurable standard)

But personally, I'm not worried about his athleticism preventing him from being a good player. Others are free to have their own concerns of course

Depends on your definition of good player. Solid rotation player, sure. Anything more than that seems unlikely but still possible.

[Dat2U]

Fast breaks go both ways. In the half court Porters first step is a problem too, on both ends.

And if you actually read the post i was responding steve claimed that Porter outran Leonard at the combine which is not even remotely accurate.

He's definitely not more athletic than Kawhi (who is a freak by every measurable standard)

But personally, I'm not worried about his athleticism preventing him from being a good player. Others are free to have their own concerns of course

Depends on your definition of good player. Solid rotation player, sure. Anything more than that seems unlikely but still possible.

but he's already a solid rotation player...

[Illmatic12]

Fast breaks go both ways. In the half court Porters first step is a problem too, on both ends.

And if you actually read the post i was responding steve claimed that Porter outran Leonard at the combine which is not even remotely accurate.

He's definitely not more athletic than Kawhi (who is a freak by every measurable standard)

But personally, I'm not worried about his athleticism preventing him from being a good player. Others are free to have their own concerns of course

Depends on your definition of good player. Solid rotation player, sure. Anything more than that seems unlikely but still possible.

Porter is already a solid rotation player, and I think it's highly likely that he becomes more than that given his youth.

In this context, a 'good' player being an above average starter. That's my expectation for Porter within the next 1-2 seasons.

[gtn130]

He's definitely not more athletic than Kawhi (who is a freak by every measurable standard)

But personally, I'm not worried about his athleticism preventing him from being a good player. Others are free to have their own concerns of course

Depends on your definition of good player. Solid rotation player, sure. Anything more than that seems unlikely but still possible.

but he's already a solid rotation player...

His playing time has been erratic. He hasn't settled into being much of anything yet because he's young and Wittman is a moron. He's also been super inconsistent, so I don't think he's exactly what I'd characterize as a solid rotation player.

His lack of athleticism puts a hard cap on his potential, and becoming a player who makes a big, positive impact on a playoff team will require significant improvements to his defense and 3 point shot. It's not as if he has tons of potential to improve his ability to create for himself or others -- that's not even in his wheelhouse.

[tontoz]

I am reasonably confident that Porter will be a good offensive player. I am not confident he will be good, or even average, on D. Time will tell.

[gtn130]

He's definitely not more athletic than Kawhi (who is a freak by every measurable standard)

But personally, I'm not worried about his athleticism preventing him from being a good player. Others are free to have their own concerns of course

Depends on your definition of good player. Solid rotation player, sure. Anything more than that seems unlikely but still possible.

Porter is already a solid rotation player, and I think it's highly likely that he becomes more than that given his youth.

In this context, a 'good' player being an above average starter. That's my expectation for Porter within the next 1-2 seasons.

It's not like all young players become good starters in the NBA. He's young, but his potential is limited. How do you see him becoming an impact starter? What improvements will he make to his game to allow for that?

His best case is Trevor Ariza but slightly better on offense and slightly worse on D in terms of production

[Dat2U]

Depends on your definition of good player. Solid rotation player, sure. Anything more than that seems unlikely but still possible.

but he's already a solid rotation player...

His playing time has been erratic. He hasn't settled into being much of anything yet because he's young and Wittman is a moron. He's also been super inconsistent, so I don't think he's exactly what I'd characterize as a solid rotation player.

His lack of athleticism puts a hard cap on his potential, and becoming a player who makes a big, positive impact on a playoff team will require significant improvements to his defense and 3 point shot. It's not as if he has tons of potential to improve his ability to create for himself or others -- that's not even in his wheelhouse.

I honestly disagree with much of your analysis. His defense needs to improve & his 3pt shot needs to become more reliable. Those are workable traits that can be improved... He actually did have ability to create for others, he displayed that in college, but the Wizards have shown no desire or ability to work within his developed college skillset. They are basically forcing him into a 3&D role despite Porter having similar ball skills to Beal but in a taller frame, and better court vision & passing ability than Beal coming out of college. Yet they'll force feed Beal off the dribble while Porter is an afterthought in the corner/wing or on the bench. It shows an amazing lack of consistency with regards to player development. There's no real plan... just seat of the pants decision making.

[gtn130]

but he's already a solid rotation player...

His playing time has been erratic. He hasn't settled into being much of anything yet because he's young and Wittman is a moron. He's also been super inconsistent, so I don't think he's exactly what I'd characterize as a solid rotation player.

His lack of athleticism puts a hard cap on his potential, and becoming a player who makes a big, positive impact on a playoff team will require significant improvements to his defense and 3 point shot. It's not as if he has tons of potential to improve his ability to create for himself or others -- that's not even in his wheelhouse.

I honestly disagree with much of your analysis. His defense needs to improve & his 3pt shot needs to become more reliable. Those are workable traits that can be improved... He actually did have ability to create for others, he displayed that in college, but the Wizards have shown no desire or ability to work within his developed college skillset. They are basically forcing him into a 3&D role despite Porter having similar ball skills to Beal but in a taller frame, and better court vision & passing ability than Beal coming out of college. Yet they'll force feed Beal off the dribble while Porter is an afterthought in the corner/wing or on the bench. It shows an amazing lack of consistency with regards to player development. There's no real plan... just seat of the pants decision making.

In the case that he improves his 3/D significantly, he'd be an average NBA starter. I don't believe he'll be an impact player off the dribble. I guess that's where we disagree.

[DCZards]

The thing I like about OP is that he always seems to exceed people's expectations of him. A small town kid with little or no AAU experience or exposure, Porter landed at G'Town with little hype and by his soph year had become arguably the best player in the very good Big East conference. Now, the kid from Missouri has to do the "show me" thing once again as a pro. And he will.

Here's something said about Otto when he was in high school and it still rings true today.

"What sets him apart is his length and his skill," ESPN Recruiting's Reggie Rankin Rankin said. "The midrange stuff he was doing at 6-8 is what makes him special. He has the ability to score inside the arc off the dribble or off the catch.

"People talk all the time about the middle game being a lost art and I think that is definitely what makes him special. To see a guy that good perform that well, and we didn't have a lot on him -- that's mind-boggling."

[keynote]

Porter has better playmaking skills than Beal did at this stage, but he's handicapped by a subpar first step. I'd like to see him freelancing and/or operating out of the high post more, but I don't think he'll become an effective ISO player based on ball handling and vision alone.

[tontoz]

Porter has better playmaking skills than Beal did at this stage, but he's handicapped by a subpar first step. I'd like to see him freelancing and/or operating out of the high post more, but I don't think he'll become an effective ISO player based on ball handling and vision alone.

Agreed. Much better court awareness/playmaking ability than Beal. When the clock runs down i would definitely like to see him get the ball in the high post and make a decision.

His current RPM is 1.46 on offense, -1.42 on D. Hopefully his defensive issues are at least partly due to inexperience.

I am definitely not convinced that Noel will be a better player than Porter.