Is Washington Wizards Forward Otto Porter Underperforming?
Otto Porter must snap out of Dec. slump and return to form as the Washington Wizards lose ground in the NBA standings.
The Washington Wizards were one game away from the Eastern Conference Finals last season and became one of the NBA’s most exciting teams to watch.
However, the 2017-18 Washington Wizards basketball team looks nowhere near the 49-win team they were a year ago. Despite no notable departures this offseason, the Wizards failed to add a real playmaker to help them get to the next level.
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Instead, Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld elected to stay faithful to the core group of players that took him years to put together. As a result, the Wizards resigned Otto Porter to a four-year deal worth $106.5 million.
Just this season alone, Porter will earn $24,773,250. That’s more money than what NBA superstars like Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond, CJ McCollum, and fellow teammates Bradley Beal and John Wall, per HoopsHype.com. Every player puts up more points per game than Porter, except Drummond, who averages a double-double with 14 points and 14.8 rebounds.
Most noteworthy, Porter is guaranteed $78,035,739, which put him among the top 20 highest paid NBA players.
| Sala | Sala | Sala | Sala | Sala | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | Tm | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | Guaranteed ▼ |
| 1 | Stephen Curry | GSW | $34,682,550 | $37,457,154 | $40,231,758 | $43,006,362 | $45,780,966 | $201,158,790 |
| 2 | Russell Westbrook | OKC | $28,530,608 | $35,350,000 | $38,178,000 | $41,006,000 | $43,848,000 | $186,912,608 |
| 3 | James Harden | HOU | $28,299,399 | $30,431,854 | $37,800,000 | $40,824,000 | $43,848,000 | $181,203,253 |
| 4 | John Wall | WAS | $18,063,850 | $19,169,800 | $37,800,000 | $40,824,000 | $43,848,000 | $159,705,650 |
| 5 | Andrew Wiggins | MIN | $7,574,322 | $25,250,000 | $27,270,000 | $29,290,000 | $31,310,000 | $154,024,322 |
| 6 | Blake Griffin | LAC | $29,512,900 | $31,873,932 | $34,234,964 | $36,595,996 | $38,957,028 | $132,217,792 |
| 7 | Damian Lillard | POR | $26,153,057 | $27,977,689 | $29,802,321 | $31,626,953 | $115,560,020 | |
| 8 | Mike Conley | MEM | $28,530,608 | $30,521,115 | $32,511,623 | $34,504,132 | $113,989,729 | |
| 9 | C.J. McCollum | POR | $23,962,573 | $25,759,766 | $27,556,959 | $29,354,152 | $106,633,450 | |
| 10 | Bradley Beal | WAS | $23,775,506 | $25,434,263 | $27,093,019 | $28,751,775 | $105,054,563 | |
| 11 | Jrue Holiday | NOP | $25,686,667 | $26,131,111 | $26,131,111 | $26,131,111 | $27,020,000 | $104,080,000 |
| 12 | Steven Adams | OKC | $22,471,910 | $24,157,303 | $25,842,697 | $27,528,090 | $100,000,000 | |
| 13 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | MIL | $22,471,910 | $24,157,303 | $25,842,697 | $27,528,090 | $100,000,000 | |
| 14 | Rudy Gobert | UTA | $21,974,719 | $23,491,573 | $25,008,427 | $26,525,281 | $97,000,000 | |
| 15 | Gordon Hayward | BOS | $29,727,900 | $31,214,295 | $32,700,690 | $34,187,085 | $93,642,885 | |
| 16 | Kyle Lowry | TOR | $28,703,704 | $31,000,000 | $33,296,296 | $93,000,000 | ||
| 17 | Victor Oladipo | IND | $21,000,000 | $21,000,000 | $21,000,000 | $21,000,000 | $84,000,000 | |
| 18 | DeMar DeRozan | TOR | $27,739,975 | $27,739,975 | $27,739,975 | $27,739,975 | $83,219,925 | |
| 19 | Otto Porter | WAS | $24,773,250 | $26,011,913 | $27,250,576 | $28,489,239 | $78,035,739 | |
| 20 | Gary Harris | DEN | $2,550,055 | $16,517,857 | $17,839,286 | $19,160,714 | $20,482,143 | $76,550,055 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Up near the very top is Wizards point guard John Wall, who the Wizards paid big bucks this offseason to obviously keep the NBA superstar. Wall’s new contract guarentees him $159,705,650. Furthermore, his big pay raise comes in 2019-20, when his pay increases by $18,630,200.
Not too far behind is another Wizards player, Bradley Beal who is in the midst of his mega five-year deal he inked last summer.
As a result, the Wizards hold the fifth highest payroll in the NBA at $124,503,302 and it only goes up from there. By the 2020-21 season, the Wizards will own the NBA’s highest payroll at $98,065,014 by a large margin.
However, as one of the highest paid players, Porter is underperforming so far this season. Yes, it’s still early and plenty of time left on the Wizards schedule to elevate his play. But Porter’s 14.3 points per game doesn’t even rank in the top 10 for small forwards.
At least his 14.3 points per game is an improvement from last season’s average of 13.4 points. Porter’s play has dropped off in December and is producing 10.8 points per game this month after averaging 14.7 points in Nov.
Next: Wizards Dealing With Bench Woes Once Again
Fortunately, Porter did return from a hip injury Friday night in the Washington Wizards’ 84-119 blowout loss to the Brooklyn Nets, playing 21 minutes with six points and four rebounds.