Washington Wizards: 2017-18 NBA season preview

Storyline 1: Otto Porter signs a max deal

The Washington Wizards had another offseason where they locked up another one of their rising stars to a long-term deal. Forward Otto Porter signed a four-year, $106.5 million deal in the offseason to stay with the Wizards.

He joins Bradley Beal and John Wall to form a nucleus for a team looking to contend in the Eastern Conference. Porter is coming off a career season where he averaged a career-high 13.4 points per game and shot 43.4 percent from 3-point range.

This season, Porter will only improve as he looks to take more of the burden off of Beal and Wall. He’ll be tested early this season as the team is expected to miss big man Markieff Morris for 6-8 weeks.

Much like Bradley Beal’s emergence in 2016-17, Porter will be expected to have similar results. Averaging 20 points isn’t completely out of the question, but Porter will be looked upon more on the defensive side of the ball as his length came in handy in last year’s playoffs.