Raptors Rumors: Otto Porter Jr. Picks Up $6.3M Contract Option for 2023-24 Season

Veteran forward Otto Porter Jr. is exercising his 2023-24 player option with the Toronto Raptors, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Porter will earn $6.3 million next year.

The 29-year-old is coming off a forgettable first season north of the border. A hamstring injury kept him out for seven games at the start and then he made eight appearances before suffering what proved to be a season-ending foot injury.

For Porter, taking the sure thing with the option made plenty of sense. His market was bound to be unpredictable after he played so sparingly for Toronto. Not to mention, he has played in just 113 games since the start of the 2019-20 season.

Team president Masai Ujiri, for his part, indicated after the Raptors' season ended that he expected the 6'8", 198-pound forward to be back.

"It was an unfortunate situation that didn't work out," Ujiri told reporters. "… The plan is for him to heal and be part of the roster next season."

Whether that ultimately proves to be the case may be another matter.

The Raptors fired head coach Nick Nurse after going 41-41 and losing to the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament. The franchise has steadily fallen off after its triumph in the 2019 NBA Finals, and significant changes are required to return to that level.

Ujiri could theoretically use Porter's salary in a trade that either nets reinforcements for a short-term turnaround or signals a pivot toward a total rebuild.