Bulls complete Otto Porter Jr. trade with Wizards
CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls have acquired forward Otto Porter Jr. from the Washington Wizards in exchange for forwards Jabari Parker and Bobby Portis, and a protected 2023 second-round draft pick.
Otto Porter Jr. (6-8, 198) was selected third overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2013 NBA Draft. Over his six seasons in the league, he has put up career averages of 10.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.18 steals in 384 games (271 starts) while shooting .483 from the field, .399 from three (17th among active players) and .786 from the free throw line. He has played in 31 career postseason games and put up averages of 10.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.26 steals per game while shooting .490 from the field, .333 from three and .719 from the free throw line. In both 2016-17 and 2017-18, he averaged over 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting above .400 from three. If Porter were to hit those benchmarks again in a season, he would be the fifth NBA player ever to post such numbers in at least three seasons. Porter’s true shooting numbers over those two years were .628 and .602, respectively. The .628 mark in 2016-17 ranked seventh in the NBA.
This season, Porter is averaging 12.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and a career-high 1.56 steals (tied-14th) in 41 games (28 starts). Over his last 15 games, he has posted 14.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.80 steals on .418 shooting from the field, .372 from three and .750 from the free throw line. Porter’s steal-to-turnover ratio of 1.60 ranks fourth in the NBA. The Wizards’ offensive rating improved by 2.9 points per 100 possessions when he was on rather than off the court.
“We are excited to add Otto Porter to our team. During his time in the NBA, Otto has proven to be a terrific three-point shooter., while also being very efficient. While in his sixth pro season, he is only 25 years old and is someone who will be a good fit for our team moving forward,” said Gar Forman, General Manager of the Chicago Bulls.
Parker (6-8, 250) signed with the Bulls as a free agent on July 14, 2018. He is averaging 14.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 26.7 minutes per game this season and is shooting .474 from the field, .325 from three-point range and .731 from the free-throw line.
Portis (6-11, 250) was drafted by Chicago in the first round (22nd selection) of the 2015 NBA Draft. He is averaging 14.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 24.1 minutes per game this season and is shooting .450 from the field, .375 from three-point range and .780 from the free-throw line. In 221 career games (27 starts) with the Bulls, Portis held averages of 9.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 19.3 minutes and shot .461 from the field, .350 from long range and .743 from the foul line. He appeared in six playoff games for Chicago and averaged 6.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.50 steals in 20.1 minutes per game and shot .515 from the field and .462 from three-point range.