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Washington Wizards rookie forward Otto Porter made his NBA regular season debut Friday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, but he missed all three of his shots from the floor while tallying two rebounds and one assist in 14 minutes off the bench. The third overall pick in June’s draft missed the start of the season with a right hip injury, and he was also bothered by hamstring issues during Las Vegas Summer League.
Now that he has taken the floor for games that count, should fantasy basketball owners start to pay attention to Porter?
Porter emerged a legitimate pro prospect last season at Georgetown, as he averaged 16.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game as a sophomore. When the Wizards drafted him he entered a clogged depth chart at small forward, with Trevor Ariza and Martell Webster in the mix, but Ariza missed time earlier this season and Webster left Friday night’s game with an ankle issue and was unable to return. Shooting guard Bradley Beal is currently out with a leg injury and his timetable to return is still up in the air, so the team basically has yet to have a fully healthy group of wing players so far this season.
Even with injuries to Beal and Webster possibly opening up some playing time in the near-term, Porter is still likely to see limited minutes as he gets back into game shape. But if he plays well and stays healthy the opportunity to play more, and perhaps start, could be there down the road this season. Both Ariza and Webster have had trouble staying healthy during their careers, and each guy’s ability to produce at a high level consistently is a question regardless of any injury concerns, so Porter could quickly become the best option at small forward for Wizards’ coach Randy Wittman.
Porter is someone to keep an eye on in fantasy leagues now that he is active, but he is only worth adding in very deep leagues right now.
Brad Berreman is a contributing writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradberreman24.
