Kofi Inkoom
Even though the NBA trade deadline has passed, the Utah Jazz are still dealing with changes to their roster.
They traded Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji to the Toronto Raptors earlier in the month, and now they’re considering letting veteran wing Otto Porter Jr. go through a buyout.
It might be disappointing for Jazz fans to see two key players leave for someone who might not even play for the team, but overall, it’s the best decision.
Utah is focused on developing young talent, while Porter wants to be part of a team competing for a championship.
It’s hard to find a good fit for both sides, so splitting ways seems inevitable as they try to figure out where Porter will go next for the remainder of the season.
Although there’s no definite destination for Porter yet, some experts are speculating on where he might end up.
According to Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report, there’s talk of him joining the Los Angeles Clippers after being let go by Utah.
Should he hit the open market, he could draw interest from a number of contenders—provided, of course, they are confident in his health. When he has made it to the hardwood in recent seasons, he’s still the same shape-shifting defender who can mostly hold up against any of the three frontcourt positions while adding modest offensive value as a shot-maker and willing passer. Porter fits in plenty of places—a return to Golden State seems feasible—but the Los Angeles Clippers might offer him the best opportunity in terms of both contending for a title and filling a somewhat regular role. He may not handle nightly minutes in Hollywood, but if he’s healthy, he could give them a lot of the frontcourt flexibility and three-and-D play they hoped to squeeze out of P.J.
Despite facing multiple injuries over the past two seasons, Porter has still been effective when he’s been able to play.
He hasn’t played many games lately, but he was an important player off the bench for the Golden State Warriors during their 2022 NBA Finals win.
The Clippers could really use Porter’s skills and versatility, especially considering their goal of winning a championship. They have a strong roster already, so Porter wouldn’t necessarily have to play a lot of minutes.
Although Porter is still technically on the Jazz team, it seems likely that he’ll leave soon. We’ll have to wait and see what happens next for this experienced player.