The deadline to sign fourth-year players to extensions has come and gone and some notable players were unable to reach deals with their teams. Among those now in limbo is Otto Porter.
The Washington Wizards forward will be a restricted free agent come July and the possibility of leaving the team that drafted him is there.
But despite not coming to terms on an extension, Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld is making it clear he wants to re-sign Porter long-term.
Following via J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic:
“We had conversations but we want Otto here long-term,” Grunfeld told CSNmidatlantic.com on Wednesday, before the regular-season home opener with the Toronto Raptors. “We like Otto. We really like what he brings to the table. He’s a really good player that meshes well with John (Wall) and Brad (Beal) who like to have the ball in their hands. Otto cuts and spots up and he does a lot of little things. He makes a lot of winning plays that don’t show up in the boxscore. Our intention is in the offeseason is to have Otto signed and have him here long-term.”
Otto Porter has grown a bit as a player with the Wizards but he hasn’t quite taken the step everyone is expecting from him. Perhaps this will be the year he puts it together. But if he doesn’t, Grunfeld’s words may end up being nothing more than GM-speak.
