Porter Jr. could be big bargain for Warriors — if healthy

NBC Sports

Porter Jr. could be big bargain for Warriors — if healthy

And in the seventh hour of the NBA free agency bazaar on Monday, the Warriors reached into the market and came away with a quietly shrewd deal.

They reached an agreement with veteran wing Otto Porter Jr. on a one-year deal for the veteran minimum, in his case roughly $2.3 million. League sources confirmed the agreement, which was first reported by Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

if Porter stays healthy for most of the season, he’s a bargain.

That “if,” however, is enormous. Porter, 28, has missed roughly 70 percent of his team’s games over the past two seasons with a variety of ailments. The 6-foot-7 Georgetown product missed the final seven weeks of the Orlando Magic’s 2020-21 season with a left foot injury.

Porter is a solid 3-and-D wing, defensively switchable through all three perimeter positions and against power forwards in a small lineup. He also is able to put the ball in the basket, particularly from distance. He shot 38.0 percent beyond arc over the past two seasons, but owns a career mark of 40.2 percent. He has topped 40.0 percent in four different seasons, hitting a career-high 44.1 percent as a member of the Washington Wizards in 2017-18.

When healthy, Porter is a reasonably efficient scorer capable of putting up 15-20 points on any given night. His career-high of 37 points was set as a member of the Chicago Bulls in a win over the Grizzlies on Feb. 19, 2019.

Porter conceivably could compete for a starting shooting guard role early in the season, as the Warriors don’t anticipate five-time All-Star Klay Thompson receiving 100-percent clearance before the season opener in mid-October.

When all the roster is fully healthy, Porter could slide into a role similar to that which was filled last season by Kent Bazemore, who on Monday agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.

RELATED: Top winners, losers from busy first day of NBA free agency

Reaching agreement with a veteran two-way wing, such as Porter, felt necessary after both Nicolas Batum (stayed with the Clippers) and Bazemore spurned Golden State.

Getting Porter for the vet minimum allowed the Warriors to preserve their $5.89 million taxpayer midlevel exception, which is anticipated to be used on another player this week.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast