rashard mobley is a treasure trove of all things wizards. met him when i covered them, and he's been grinding on that beat for like nine years. he's a beast.
here's what he said re: otto not getting that bread:
1) Otto Porter had a chance to force the Wizards hand in the new contract department last year after Paul Pierce left for Los Angeles. He had no real competition at the small forward position, he played well in the 2015 playoffs (He averaged 10 points, eight rebounds, and he had a game-sealing deflection in Game 1 of the series versus Toronto to seal a victory for the Wizards), and he'd finally won the confidence of Coach Randy Wittman--not exactly an easy thing to do given Wittman's early disdain for Porter's inability to stay healthy as a rookie.
Once the season started, Porter did nothing to distinguish himself as THE small forward on the roster. Granted, Porter has always played better as the third scoring option behind Beal and Wall, and when Beal was hurt last year, Porter was taken out of his comfort zone and asked to do more. He is not adept at creating his own shot, and he regressed a bit on defense. To make matters worse for Porter, Kelly Oubre, the Wizards first-round draft pick, began to play well last winter while Porter was out with injury. Oubre was less disciplined than Porter, but he hustled on defense, created his own shot, and had that "IT" factor that seemed to provide an energy boost to the Wizards lineups. Porter fought through his nagging injuries and ended up putting up career-high numbers in points in every statistical category. 11 points and 5.2 rebounds are fine for a second-rounder or even a rooke high draft pick. Those numbers are less acceptable for the number three pick in the 2013 draft, who was expected--fairly or unfairly--to replace Paul Pierce.
So when Coach Wittman was fired in favor of Scott Brooks, and Brooks openly declared that the starting small forward posit on was an open competition between Oubre and Porter, that pretty much ended any chance Porter had to be re-signed before becoming a restricted free agent. Yes Porter won the competition and has played well during this early 2016-2017 season, but the fact that he was not already penciled in as the starter means that Brooks (and probably Ernie Grunfeld) is not convinced that Otto is the real deal.
2) The Wizards were in this same boat with Bradley Beal last year. Now it was slightly different because the Wizards didn't want to sign Beal midseason for two main reasons: 1) His cap hold would be $7 million dollars more if they signed him during the 2015-2016 season, as opposed to waiting during the offseason. That extra money provided them with financial flexibilty. 2) They wanted to wait and see what Kevin Durant was going to do.
But the third reason the Wizards didn't sign Beal to a contact--and the reason that is most germane to Otto Porter's situation--is that he was still unproven. Yes Beal had shown in two consecutive playoff tours of duty (2014 and 2015) that he possessed another gear he could access on both ends of the floor (his regular season average is 16, it jumps to 21 in the playoffs), he was also injured often, and he had two consecutive season with stress-related injuries in his leg. There was even concern that Beal may have to be on a minutes restriction for the remainder of his career due to that stress injury threat.
When Durant snubbed the Wizards, Ted Leonsis and Ernie Grunfeld quickly pounced on the signing of Beal, and it worked out well for him in the end. But Porter isn't consistent as Beal, they Wizards aren't as reliant on him as they are on Beal (especially if Oubre's game takes a leap this year), and depending on well the Wizards play this year (they are 0-3 so far), the Wizards could decide that parting with Porter isn't so bad. Either way, the situation with Beal last year provided key details on how the Wizards front office will handle Porter.
3) The Wizards don't feel any pressure to sign Porter right now, because they know Porter has the type of temperament that is the epitome of non-problematic. Just look at this quotes from the article that Candace Buckner of the Washington Post wrote this past week
Right now I’m just focused on basketball. I’m letting that — I’m letting my agent deal with all that right now. He’s going to make it easier for me just to focus on basketball and helping this team win. - Otto Porter
I’ve been on teams where that guy was in his contract year but [he] was not a team guy and we knew he was going for numbers regardless. . . . After 48 minutes, he wasn’t worried about the two letters that I’m worried about: The ‘W’ and the ‘L. But with our guy Otto, he’s a team guy. He’s a winner. I will never worry about him - Scott Brooks
It is almost as if the Wizards are saying, "He's not going anywhere, we'll get to him when we can!", and Porter isn't exactly saying anything to disavow them of that notion. It is possible that he is determined to let his play do the talking--and if his last game against the Raptors is any indication (23 points and 13 rebounds against DeMar DeRozan) that is a smart stance to take--but it still feels like a lack of urgency on both sides. Plus as I mentioned before, if Kelly Oubre's game starts to speak louder, Porter's days in Washington could be numbered.
here's what he said re: otto not getting that bread:
1) Otto Porter had a chance to force the Wizards hand in the new contract department last year after Paul Pierce left for Los Angeles. He had no real competition at the small forward position, he played well in the 2015 playoffs (He averaged 10 points, eight rebounds, and he had a game-sealing deflection in Game 1 of the series versus Toronto to seal a victory for the Wizards), and he'd finally won the confidence of Coach Randy Wittman--not exactly an easy thing to do given Wittman's early disdain for Porter's inability to stay healthy as a rookie.
Once the season started, Porter did nothing to distinguish himself as THE small forward on the roster. Granted, Porter has always played better as the third scoring option behind Beal and Wall, and when Beal was hurt last year, Porter was taken out of his comfort zone and asked to do more. He is not adept at creating his own shot, and he regressed a bit on defense. To make matters worse for Porter, Kelly Oubre, the Wizards first-round draft pick, began to play well last winter while Porter was out with injury. Oubre was less disciplined than Porter, but he hustled on defense, created his own shot, and had that "IT" factor that seemed to provide an energy boost to the Wizards lineups. Porter fought through his nagging injuries and ended up putting up career-high numbers in points in every statistical category. 11 points and 5.2 rebounds are fine for a second-rounder or even a rooke high draft pick. Those numbers are less acceptable for the number three pick in the 2013 draft, who was expected--fairly or unfairly--to replace Paul Pierce.
So when Coach Wittman was fired in favor of Scott Brooks, and Brooks openly declared that the starting small forward posit on was an open competition between Oubre and Porter, that pretty much ended any chance Porter had to be re-signed before becoming a restricted free agent. Yes Porter won the competition and has played well during this early 2016-2017 season, but the fact that he was not already penciled in as the starter means that Brooks (and probably Ernie Grunfeld) is not convinced that Otto is the real deal.
2) The Wizards were in this same boat with Bradley Beal last year. Now it was slightly different because the Wizards didn't want to sign Beal midseason for two main reasons: 1) His cap hold would be $7 million dollars more if they signed him during the 2015-2016 season, as opposed to waiting during the offseason. That extra money provided them with financial flexibilty. 2) They wanted to wait and see what Kevin Durant was going to do.
But the third reason the Wizards didn't sign Beal to a contact--and the reason that is most germane to Otto Porter's situation--is that he was still unproven. Yes Beal had shown in two consecutive playoff tours of duty (2014 and 2015) that he possessed another gear he could access on both ends of the floor (his regular season average is 16, it jumps to 21 in the playoffs), he was also injured often, and he had two consecutive season with stress-related injuries in his leg. There was even concern that Beal may have to be on a minutes restriction for the remainder of his career due to that stress injury threat.
When Durant snubbed the Wizards, Ted Leonsis and Ernie Grunfeld quickly pounced on the signing of Beal, and it worked out well for him in the end. But Porter isn't consistent as Beal, they Wizards aren't as reliant on him as they are on Beal (especially if Oubre's game takes a leap this year), and depending on well the Wizards play this year (they are 0-3 so far), the Wizards could decide that parting with Porter isn't so bad. Either way, the situation with Beal last year provided key details on how the Wizards front office will handle Porter.
3) The Wizards don't feel any pressure to sign Porter right now, because they know Porter has the type of temperament that is the epitome of non-problematic. Just look at this quotes from the article that Candace Buckner of the Washington Post wrote this past week
Right now I’m just focused on basketball. I’m letting that — I’m letting my agent deal with all that right now. He’s going to make it easier for me just to focus on basketball and helping this team win. - Otto Porter
I’ve been on teams where that guy was in his contract year but [he] was not a team guy and we knew he was going for numbers regardless. . . . After 48 minutes, he wasn’t worried about the two letters that I’m worried about: The ‘W’ and the ‘L. But with our guy Otto, he’s a team guy. He’s a winner. I will never worry about him - Scott Brooks
It is almost as if the Wizards are saying, "He's not going anywhere, we'll get to him when we can!", and Porter isn't exactly saying anything to disavow them of that notion. It is possible that he is determined to let his play do the talking--and if his last game against the Raptors is any indication (23 points and 13 rebounds against DeMar DeRozan) that is a smart stance to take--but it still feels like a lack of urgency on both sides. Plus as I mentioned before, if Kelly Oubre's game starts to speak louder, Porter's days in Washington could be numbered.
