Bulls Rumors: Latest Buzz on Otto Porter Jr.'s Contract Option, Future

The Chicago Bulls are entering a new era after Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley replaced John Paxson and Gar Forman as the team's lead executives.

But while Karnisovas and Eversley hope to lead the Bulls into a more successful future, they must also bear the brunt of the old regime's personnel decisions, notably taking on two years of Otto Porter Jr.'s salary.

Porter has a player option worth close to $28.5 million for the 2020-21 season, per Spotrac. According to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, Porter is "expected" to exercise his option.

Porter would not come close to matching that value in the open market after playing in just 14 games for the Bulls this past season. 

The Bulls acquired the former No. 3 overall pick in February 2019, sending Jabari Parker and Bobby Portis to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Porter. In doing so, they all but guaranteed paying the 27-year-old more than $55 million over the course of the next two seasons.

Porter had some nice seasons with the Wizards but hardly seemed like a player worth over $26 million in annual average value. Yet, that is exactly what Wizards gave Porter—then a restricted free agent—in the summer of 2017, partially because the Sacramento Kings reportedly offered Porter a max contract.

The former Georgetown star proceeded to have the best year of his career in 2017-18, averaging 14.7 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting over 44 percent from beyond the arc. But the Wizards got off to a poor start the following season, and the loss of John Wall prompted them to sell Porter at the deadline. 

Initially, however, the move looked like a potential winner for the Bulls. Porter excelled over the course of his final 15 games with the Bulls, averaging 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting nearly 49 percent from deep on 5.3 attempts per game.

Chicago produced a 115.6 offensive rating when Porter was on the floor compared to just 104.1 when he was on the bench, per Basketball Reference. He seemed to fit in perfectly as a floor-spacer for Zach LaVine, and often worked wonders in pick-and-pop situations with Lauri Markkanen. The Bulls hoped the growth of that trio would result in a potential playoff run this season.

But it did not happen. Chicago struggled early, and Porter was beset by injuries. He first hurt his left foot in November and didn't return until March.

More frustratingly for the Bulls, Porter was just beginning to ramp up his playing time prior to the suspension of play. He scored a combined 38 points on 15-of-28 shooting and was plus-15 in the team's final two games against the Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Bobby Marks of ESPN reported Porter has until Oct. 17 to exercise his player option, but it is essentially a foregone conclusion. Chicago will need Porter to remain healthy and produce closer to his 15-game stint at the end of the 2018-19 campaign if it hopes to reap any value from the initial trade that brought him to the Windy City.

All stats obtained via Basketball Reference, unless otherwise noted.