NBA Trade Grades: Wizards sending Otto Porter Jr. to Bulls

Washington Wizards

With Tuesday’s news that John Wall needed surgery to repair a ruptured left Achilles tendon and would be sidelined for 12 months, it made sense for the Wizards to change their stance on keeping both Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr.

The meager return they wound up getting for Porter, however, is less than ideal, even with Thursday’s trade deadline closing in. They still had time to find a more suitable deal, because even with that inflated salary, the return here could’ve been better.

Porter is set to make $27.3 million next year, with a $28.5 million player option for 2020-21. Matching his $26 million salary for this year was probably a stretch for most trade suitors as well.

With that being said, a trade of this sort seemed imminent when Wall’s injury closed the door on this group’s contention window, especially since his supermax starting at $38.2 million will kick in next season. In that frame of mind, Washington managed to unload salary with Portis and Parker.

Both are young players who could aid Washington’s rebuild if they impress, or they could just as easily be let go over the summer to cut additional costs. Parker has a $20 million team option for next season, while Portis is set to become a restricted free agent this summer (with a $3.6 million qualifying option).

The Wizards may trying to hang onto both given the roster’s massive contracts that are split among 4-5 players, but at the very least, they’ll be giving Portis an extended look at a position of need, since Markieff Morris comes off the books this summer.

Porter is experiencing a down year, and given his youth, moving his large contract made the most sense. Portis, conversely, has been enjoying yet another career season, averaging 14.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in just 24.1 minutes per game as one of the league’s most productive bench players.

Injuries have limited Portis to just 22 appearances this season, but he’s expanded his range, knocking down a career-high 37.5 percent of his 3.3 long range attempts per game. He’s certainly worth a look for Washington, even if he may cost a fair amount to retain in free agency.

Parker’s 14.3 points and 6.2 rebounds don’t move the needle much for the Wizards, but he’s another frontcourt option to plug in. As part of a rotation that won’t block his minutes, perhaps he’ll be able to prove himself again in a new environment. If not, the Wiz can just cut ties this summer by declining his team option.

The real benefit to this deal, however, is easing the luxury tax burden for an organization that was paying way too much for a team currently outside the playoff picture in the NBA’s inferior conference. The deal puts Washington just $2.3 million over the tax line, with time to make another move to duck back under it before Thursday.

Those savings probably don’t mean much to the fans, but extending point guard Tomas Satoransky is crucial with Wall out for an entire year. In his 27 starts leading up to Wednesday night’s action, Satoransky was averaging 10.4 points, 5.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds a night.

Bringing back Thomas Bryant is critical as well, since he’s been the team’s starting center and has performed relatively well, averaging 9.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in his 18.9 minutes per game.

The unfortunate truth of this trade, even with the luxury tax savings and their potential benefits factored in, is the Wizards probably got worse. They probably won’t make the playoffs (for those still clinging to hope), and the inevitable roster teardown is probably on its way.

Giving Bobby Portis a look is a nice start to the Wizards’ next chapter, but they probably didn’t get enough for a player of Porter’s two-way talents, which makes their next steps to rebuilding all the more difficult.

Grade: C+