Since agreeing to a $12.3 million contract with the organization in 2022, Otto Porter has participated in 23 games overall over the last two seasons. In the last five seasons, he has only participated in more than thirty games (the 2022 Warriors title run season). For this reason, the Raptors included him in a deal for Kelly Olynyk and traded him to Utah at the deadline.
According to Tony Jones of The Athletic, Porter is not with the Jazz as they begin their post-All-Star race to the NBA season’s conclusion. He goes on to say that a buyout is conceivable.
Otto Porter Jr., a forward for the Utah Jazz, has gone home to consider his options for the rest of the season and will not play with the team on Thursday night when the Jazz play the Charlotte Hornets to open the second half of their schedule, league sources told The Athletic.
League sources said that Porter, 30, is fully healthy and prepared to play. The Jazz acquired Porter two weeks ago when they traded Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji to the Toronto Raptors. He might choose to accept the Jazz’s contract buyout, which would free him to join with another team. Porter would not be able to participate in the postseason unless he signed a contract with another team by March 1.
There may be a front office that remembers how much Porter helped the Warriors off the bench in their 2022 playoff run, especially as a versatile and switchable defender. However, a team has to balance that against his injury history and paying him (and potential tax implications for some teams) for the remainder of the season.
Porter’s agent will probably use this time apart from the Jazz to assess the market’s demand for Porter. Porter’s current salary is $6.3 million; he will only accept a lower buyout amount if he can secure a higher contract with a different team. Porter probably stays and tries to play for the Jazz to prove to teams that he is healthy and worthy of a deal for the upcoming campaign if no other teams want to sign him.
