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In the wake of losing Gordon Hayward to the Boston Celtics, the Jazz are pivoting quickly to court Otto Porter, according to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today:
The Utah Jazz have scheduled a meeting with Washington Wizards restricted free agent Otto Porter, league sources told Basketball Insiders.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 4, 2017
Otto Porter is part of Utah's contingency plan. Smart front office was prepared. Jazz will meet with Wizards RFA, I'm told. https://t.co/O5ygYWHRcA
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) July 5, 2017
As things stand, the Jazz don’t have enough cap space to offer Otto Porter a max deal. Even if they were to release Boris Diaw, who’s salary for 2017-18 is unguaranteed, they can only get to $11 million in cap space, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN. The Jazz have some movable contracts, like Joe Johnson and Derrick Favors, that could help them get to max space, but that’s a lot to give up just to sign Porter to an offer sheet the Wizards would still have the right to match.
If the Jazz choose not to clear the rest of the cap space they’d need through deals, their other option would be to work out a sign-and-trade with Washington. That’s easier said than done though, since the Wizards would need a package good enough to help them feel good about walking away from a player they took with the third overall pick in 2013. On the other end, the Jazz would want to make sure they’re not giving up more than they’re losing.
We’ll find out soon enough just how high Utah’s interest level is in Otto Porter. But if nothing else, now that Gordon Hayward is off the board, the market around Porter should start to heat up.