FanPost

The Confusing Circumstances of Young Otto Porter




So we are near the trade deadline and it seems as though there are some things up in the air about this team. Although there have been rumors, the expectation that any moves the Wizards make will be minor, perhaps for a backup PG and that's it. But that is my confusion in this. Right now you have three SFs, Martell Webster, Trevor Ariza and of course, Otto Porter. It's obvious that the three are not able to coexist and get adequate playing time. Otto Porter, seems to be impacted by his injury that cost him the early part of the season or perhaps a team that is more focused on at least making the playoffs? Does any of us really know the true answer to that?

And that is where the confusion begins. If this team sees Otto Porter as a true piece in the future, then what would be the incentive of not trading Trevor Ariza by tomorrow's deadline? If this is truly the vision for the team, then you have a player who is having a career year with an expiring contract who you have being replaced with Otto Porter in the future. What would be the purpose of keeping him?

Or what if you see this team focused on the playoffs and going beyond that. You have a young player in Otto Porter that is quickly losing value and has not showed that he can adequately fill in for Trevor Ariza and make a similar impact. Does this team want to wait to see if he is going to become better at some point with the risk of him not having any value down the road? At least if you want to hold on to him in the future, wouldn't it just make more sense to send him to the D-League? Or considering that you may keep Ariza past the trade deadline, does that mean you want to commit to him long term? How do you accomplish that while still keeping Porter and Webster on the roster?


To me it just doesn't make sense for what this team is doing. I think this team needs to commit to a vision for this year and stick to it. It just doesn't make sense to go past the deadline with all 3 SFs on the roster. As a fan of the team, I would like to see this team not focus on the immediate future and perhaps do what is necessary to assure long term success. Are they unsure of Otto Porter? Well would evaluating Otto Porter and determining how good he is have been more important than winning games this year? I understand that Randy Wittman and Ernie Grunfeld are trying to save their jobs and get new contracts, but perhaps this is an example of why having a lameduck GM and coach is detrimental to a team planning a future beyond this year. Thoughts?

This represents the view of the user who wrote the FanPost, and not the entire Bullets Forever community. We're a place of many opinions, not just one.