Chicago Bulls: Top 10 moments of the 2018-19 NBA season
5. Porter drops career-high 37 points in win over Memphis Grizzlies
With their season pretty much defined by the time the trade deadline was approaching, it seemed that the Bulls weren’t going to make any noteworthy moves. However, the team opted to send Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Otto Porter Jr., a player who never averaged more than 15 points per contest during his five-plus seasons in Washington.
In his first three appearances for Chicago, Porter scored a total of 53 points, pouring in a pair of 18-point games against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets, to go along with a 17-point effort against his former team.
Those outings were respectable, but the one moment that most of us will reflect on when looking back at his season is his Feb. 13 outing against the Memphis Grizzlies. In that contest, Porter pumped in a career-high 37 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
Otto Porter Jr. shoots an efficient 16 of 20 from the field en route to scoring a career-high 37 PTS in the @chicagobulls win! #BullsNation pic.twitter.com/RvkjMyG46N
— NBA (@NBA) February 14, 2019
Not only that, the dude shot 80 percent from the field (16-for-20) and knocked down three of his five attempts from beyond the arc.
Considering that Porter will make over $27 million next season, with a player option for $28 million in 2020-21, this could have been viewed as an expensive acquisition, to say the least. If he can prove to be a viable third scoring option alongside LaVine and Markkanen, he could be worth the hefty price tag.