The Washington Wizards made it official on Saturday night, matching the New Jersey Nets’ four-year, $106.5 million maximum offer to restricted free agent Otto Porter.
The move locked in the Wizards’ foundation of Porter, Bradley Beal and All-Star guard John Wall as the team continues to tinker with innovative ways of plugging in talent around those three to compete in a top-heavy NBA Eastern Conference.
FILE – In this April 30, 2017, file photo, Washington Wizards’ Otto Porter Jr. (22) drives past Boston Celtics’ Jae Crowder (99) during the third quarter of a second-round NBA playoff series basketball game, in Boston. Following his best NBA season, Otto Porter Jr. has a big offer to join the Brooklyn Nets. Porter has agreed to sign an offer sheet with the Nets, a person with knowledge of the details said. The Wizards plan to match the offer and keep Porter, the person told The Associated Press on Wednesday, July 5, 2017. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because contracts can’t be signed until Thursday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
Porter, the third overall selection in the 2013 draft, had a career campaign last year, helping Washington finish with their best record since the late 1970s. But the Wizards fell short again in the second round of the playoffs, headlined by a young trio that will now be paid close to $70 million in salary next year alone. Porter’s deal officially takes Washington out of free agency play for the next few seasons. Will the Wizards regret maxing out Porter? Perry Green and Stephen D. Riley of the AFRO Sports Desk debate.
Riley: Porter’s a still-developing two-way wing who spaces the court for Wall and Beal and does it all on the defensive end. That skill set is worth the maximum dollar in today’s NBA. Porter hasn’t been breathtaking in his four-year run with the Wizards, but he’s shown significant improvement every season. Re-signing the 24-year-old Porter allows Washington to retain a still-ascending player while sidestepping what would have been a glaring setback had Porter departed.
Green: There were games last season where Porter went scoreless, and you don’t pay maximum money for that. The Nets might be the most desperate team in the league, so of course they’ll pay heavy money for any player of substance. That doesn’t mean the Wizards should or should have. Porter doesn’t move the needle on Washington’s championship chances one way or the other. He’s a nice piece to have alongside Wall and Beal, but he’s not the dominant front court power that Washington needs to take it up a notch. Free agency next summer was going to be headlined by several big names. Now, unless the Wizards are planning on moving Beal or Wall, they’ll have to sit on their hands and hope for improvement from within if they want to keep up with the big dogs. That’s the good news. The bad news is Washington will have to rinse and repeat that process during free agency for the next seasons as they pay out three max contracts to their core trio.
Riley: The door is never closed in the NBA. If Washington really wants to make a move over the next few seasons, then they’ll find a way to do so. It isn’t like the Wizards will be paying heavy money to dead weight—Wall, Beal and Porter have trade value across the league. Washington absolutely had to re-sign Porter, and now they’ll have a formidable trio in place to at least stay relevant over the next few seasons. Will it be enough to top Cleveland or Boston in the East? We’re not sure. But one thing that Washington just assured is that they’ll at least be in the race for the next few years. How far they go rests upon their highly-paid threesome.
Green: Unless Wall and Beal come back after the summer like the reincarnation of Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars and Porter morphs into Scottie Pippen, it won’t matter for the Wizards. Porter didn’t give them the edge last season over Cleveland and Boston, and he won’t do it next year. Both the Cavaliers and the Celtics got significantly better with free agency, while the Wizards appear to be going into next season with the same old blueprint. The Wizards just paid $100-plus million to remain mediocre, and they’ll get what they paid for. Championship-making moves will be made next summer, and the Wizards won’t be able to afford to participate.
