Otto Porter, Washington Wizards
J-Notes contributor Hayden Van de Maat
My dream trade brings Wizards wing Otto Porter to the Jazz in exchange for Rodney Hood, Derrick Favors and Joe Johnson. Some rumors have surfaced about Otto’s discontent in Washington, leading some to believe there’s a chance Porter gets dealt at the trade deadline.
If the Wizards are indeed willing to trade him, the Jazz should be in pursuit. Porter possesses all the physical tools to be one of the best two-way players in the NBA and has a skill set to match. He is still only 24 years old, so he is not a finished product.
Last offseason, the Wizards gave him a mammoth deal and since they could be looking for another All-Star to play with Wall and Beal and perhaps make them a contender, it’s possible that they want Porter’s contract off the books. Washington also has a severe lack of depth that could hurt them come playoff time.
This trade fixes that issue because they’re getting three more than capable rotation players. And if they do elect to go after an All-Star in the offseason, they won’t be locked into any long-term contracts. Rodney Hood is a free agent this summer, but the Wiz would acquire his bird rights which would go a long way toward re-signing him should they elect to take that path.
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Meanwhile, the Jazz will have solidified their young core of Dante Exum, Donovan Mitchell, Otto Porter and Rudy Gobert.
J-Notes social media guru Jared Barker
So the Jazz were interested in paying the max for Otto man? His value is down right now in part because he’s playing on a team where John Wall and Bradley Beal forced out his best friend Nene Hilario per reports. He doesn’t want to be there and the Wizards are an incredibly shallow team and could use a big man like Favors who is a huge upgrade over Marcin Gortat.
This trade might just make sense for both teams and make everyone happy. Shoot, maybe Joe Johnson wants to go to an Eastern conference playoff team to see if he can recapture that playoff magic from last year. Get it done Dennis Lindsey.