Player breakdowns: Meet Otto Porter Jr., the Bulls’ lame-duck small forward

Forward Otto Porter Jr. has been a Bull since Feb. 6, 2019.

At the time, the organization decided to jump into the deep end of the rebuild pool, adding a veteran starter to the mix to try to begin the march back toward relevancy.

Who would’ve guessed that the car was going to break down miles before it even reached the postseason turnoff?

Porter, 26, has gone through an assortment of injuries, the most serious being the fractured left foot that kept him in the training room most of the season.

He has played in only 29 of the Bulls’ 93 games since coming over after the trade with the Wizards. Is this more Bulls bad luck or just a bad decision by the since-displaced front office?

Maybe both, maybe neither.

The bothersome aspect of Porter’s acquisition is that the front office admittedly made the deal to clean up a previous awful decision (signing Jabari Parker to a free-agent contract), knowing the team couldn’t attract an impactful free-agent forward.

It’s that latter part that always irked Bulls fans, and it played a role in the downfall of fired general manager Gar Forman.

At some point in this rebuild, even the new regime realizes it has to be able to sit down with a legit All-Star-caliber talent and sell him on playing in the shadow of that Michael Jordan statue that sits majestically in the atrium next to the United Center.

Parker, who came into camp for his hometown team doughy and mopey, obviously isn’t that type of talent, and neither is Porter, who was a major upgrade over Parker but a fragile one, considering the money he’s direct-depositing from the Bulls.

When he has played, Porter has made a difference on both ends of the floor. A $27.2 million difference this season? Not even close.

And the vet has a player option next season at $28.4 million. Guess who’s opting back in?

That means Year 4 of the rebuild will have a lame duck at arguably the most important position in the NBA.

No problem. That’s just in time for the 2021 free-agent class of Hall of Fame small forwards, with LeBron James, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard as the headliners followed by Jayson Tatum (restricted).

Surely the Bulls will be able to open the checkbook and do some top-shelf shopping by then.

That task will belong to new head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas.

The Situation

When he does play, Porter is one of the better two-way options on the Bulls. He has a smooth offensive game and an ability to force opposing forwards to work for their shot.

It was interesting to note that when Porter returned from the foot injury last month, coach Jim Boylen used him specifically off the bench and seemed to imply that it would remain his role.

Does that mean oft-injured second-year forward Chandler Hutchison is actually ready to take over that starting job full-time?

That would be disastrous.

If Thaddeus Young had the legs to play the three, then the Bulls would have something, but this is still a position they haven’t figured out since they gave up on Jimmy Butler.

The Resolution

Porter will opt in for next season, and expect him to play his butt off as he auditions for his next deal.

Bold Prediction

Porter is healthy and playing at a high level throughout the first half of the 2020-21 season. Arturas Karnisovas makes his first major move, trading him for an expiring contract and a draft pick at the deadline.