When the Utah Jazz acquired Otto Porter Jr. in the trade that sent Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji to the Toronto Raptors, it was unclear what role he would play for the Jazz.
Might he be a buyout candidate? Will the Jazz waive him? Or will he play for the Jazz? These were all valid questions.
Porter’s health appears to be the most pressing concern now that he has arrived in Utah.
Porter has suffered a lot of ailments throughout his career, but in November 2022, just eight games into his two-year contract with the Raptors, he underwent season-ending surgery on his left foot.
This season, it appeared that he would be a part of the Raptors’ regular rotation, but gradually—not playing back-to-backs and increasing his play at the start of the season. But in December, he sprained his right knee.
After being cleared to play again, the Raptors appeared to have moved on, and Porter received DNPs. He hasn’t played a game since December 30.
Following the trade to the Jazz, I inquired with general manager Justin Zanik regarding Porter’s position.
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“He’s not fully healthy right now, which we knew,” Zanik told reporters. “We’ll see how it goes. I enjoy having him around, so if he is well and returns, that is OK. I believe he’s a terrific veteran influence. It just depends; we’re still figuring out how healthy he is.
I then inquired about Porter’s health, and received a drastically different response.
“I’m fine, health-wise,” Porter stated. “Few things here and there from being with Toronto, but for the most part, pretty decent.”
Porter even stated that he felt prepared to play in the Jazz’s upcoming game. That was a significant deviation from what Zanik had said, so I mentioned it to Porter, which made things even more unclear.
“Just got to figure some things out as far as my health,” Porter went on to say. “There’s some things that I just can’t go into detail with, but with the new training staff here, they should be able to get me back.”
That was on Saturday.
Porter was labeled as questionable for the Jazz’s game against the Golden State Warriors on Monday due to left foot pain, but was ultimately ruled out.
Why, with so many health issues, was Porter listed as questionable for that game? I honestly don’t know.
Porter practiced with the Jazz on Tuesday, but it wasn’t a contact workout, so it’s uncertain how much he can accomplish.
With two games remaining until the All-Star break, ideally we can gain a bit more clarity, but as things stand, there appear to be some missing parts to this puzzle.
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