As Bradley Beal said, July 19 was a "big day in D.C." as the Washington Wizards introduced Otto Porter Jr. to the media, season ticket holders, and special needs youth after the team retained his rights via a four-year, $106.5 million max contract last week. During the course of the day, majority owner Ted Leonsis, team president Ernie Grunfeld, and head coach Scott Brooks explained why exactly Porter is worth the max contract investment. Porter, although potentially a bit biased, chimed in as well to refute the claims of many who believe the team should have allowed him to walk.
"This is a very special day for our organization," Grunfeld said in a introductory statement. "When we started our rebuild, we wanted to build with a young core. Today, officially, we will announce that we will keep one of those players in our core in Otto Porter. Otto has had great success over the last four years. He has improved every single year. This past year, he was one of the top three-point shooters in the league. He was number one in effective field goal percentage if you take centers out of it. He's a two-way player. He's very solid and he fits perfectly into our core. He fits into our puzzle. John, he, and Bradley form an outstanding pair and the best part about it is they are all very young still. The future is very bright for us. Otto is the type of player you need on your team. Someone that is willing to do the dirty work. He is versatile, he plays more than one position. He can play small forward, he can play the power forward, he can play the two-guard when he needs to. But the solid improvement he has made has really impressed us."
Of course, many of you reading this may not be the biggest Grunfeld fans, but if you will not listen to him, listen to the head coach of the best Wizards team in 38 years.
"What not to love about this guy?," Brooks began. "He defends, he rebounds, he passes and he is one of the best shooters in the league and he’s young, he’s only going to get better. He’s a guy that I love coaching. I look at guys that are you a winner or are you not a winner. And this guy is a winner. He does all the little things that helps make a team successful. When you walk into the gym and see Otto, you know he is going to give you great effort. Coaches are going to enjoy being around him because he is committed to the team. He’s not about stats. He can score more and I get that and I appreciate it, but he is willing to sacrifice his own game for the betterment of the team."
One of the biggest misconceptions I believe people make when definitively suggesting that Porter is not a max contract worthy player is that they are judging him based on what he did last season, but when you are dealing with a 24-year old, you have to realize there is a good chance he continues to get better over the course of his four-year contract. By 2021, couldn't Porter be thought of as a max player? When John Wall and Bradley Beal both signed their max contracts, initially the popular question was were they actually worth it. Three and one year later, they have proved such, so why not give Porter the same chance. Porter shared that like Wall and Beal, he will use the doubter's hate to motivate him even more. Obviously projecting players is not an exact science, but here is Grunfeld's current take.
“Otto has a great work ethic and he has gotten bigger every year, he got bigger every year he was in college too, and when you put the work in and the time that he puts in, you are going to get results. And his results are showing by the numbers that he has put up. And Otto is more than just a numbers player. There’s a lot of little things out there: he’s very versatile, great teammate, and he fits the puzzle very well. We just see a lot of upside in him.”
Porter explained what he is hoping to put that stellar work ethic to use on when it comes to developing his individual game.
"Getting stronger, being able to defend bigger guys," Porter said. "Continue to work on my mid-range, three-point shot. A big thing for me is ball handling, I want to make sure I keep my ball handling real tight. Whether I get the rebound and push up the floor for myself or I just want to refine my skills."
Another aspect to consider is that after each of Washington's previous two second round playoff exits, to Indiana in 2014 and Atlanta in 2015, they ended up losing their starting small forward by the next year when Trevor Ariza and Paul Pierce went to Houston and Los Angeles, respectively. Letting Porter walk and having to start a fourth small forward in the last five season would have been a bit eye brow raising and could follow the idea of one step further, but two steps back. Washington will have true continuity for the first time in four years this offseason when they return the starting five and coaching staff from the previous year and that is quite valuable.
"I think [continuity] is huge for our success going forward," Brooks said. "It’s nice to have players like Otto that can do it on both ends of the floor. As the league is evolving, guys like Otto are very important to the success of the team."
Porter also made an impression on the Wizards beyond the basketball court as a human being and that theme clearly resonated beyond simple talking points for Leonsis, Grunfeld, and Brooks to agree upon. Whether you think that should have a monetary value or not is one thing, but think of it is icing on the cake. Think of it as a lot icing when you consider the past of guns in the locker room or at that time seemingly goofball jokers in JaVale McGee, Nick Young, and Andray Blatche. Having high character individuals in the locker room is always ideal compared to the alternative.
As a Georgetown alum himself, Leonsis said Porter stood out to him during the "Big East Tournament and whenever he played Syracuse." He also shared a statement from Porter’s college coach, John Thompson III, that Porter was not high maintenance or low maintenance, but “no maintenance.” “You need that in a team,” Leonsis reflected. "You just need players that are selfless and they are not ego-less, but they understand their role and they embrace that."
The nine-figure multi-millionaire plans to donate to his high school and church first and then "my mom will get whatever else is left." Mrs. Porter is in for a major pay day if that is the case. Moreover, Leonsis shared that Porter has already donated to Georgetown well before his max contract agreement.
"'Otto has already been generous with the school,'" Leonsis recollected on a conversation with a booster. "I didn’t know that. Otto has already been supportive and I think that just speaks volumes that he didn’t wait for his max deal to get involved with his alma matar so I was very proud of Otto for that."
"And the type of person that he is," Grunfeld continued about why the team felt comfortable giving Porter a max contract. "He’s been great in the community as you can all see this morning with his clinic. He’s the type of teammate everyone loves playing with."
"He’s a max person, in my mind and I love to coach guys that I can root for, that I can cheer for," Brooks reiterated. "He’s a guy that I want him to have success every night."
After you have read about what the top team decision makers had to say, feel free to simply read the facts.
