Chicago had max cap space, but they weren’t attracting any big-time players. Instead, they traded for one.
The Washington Wizards have agreed to trade forward Otto Porter Jr. to the Chicago Bulls for Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker, according to The Vertical’s Shams Charania. The deal also includes a 2023 second-round pick headed from Chicago to Washington.
The trade saves Washington money
It gets them out of the luxury tax because the second year of Parker’s two-year, $40 million deal has a team option. Portis is also on his rookie contract and headed to restricted free agency this summer.
The Wizards had one of the ugliest cap sheets in the NBA. Porter is in the second-year of a four-year, $106 million contract extension. His contract, along with Bradley Beal’s five-year, $127 million deal and John Wall’s four-year, $169 million extension (that kicks in next season), made it impossible for Washington to make any substantial moves without trading one of their core three.
Other than that, this is a pretty poor return for Porter, a young player the Wizards invested time into.
This is a great pickup for the Bulls, though
The Bulls projected to have max free agent space this summer, but no big-time players are headed to Chicago. They needed to improve by another means. A trade for Porter gives them a young player to develop for the future.
Now, that’s a core four of Porter, Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter, with Kris Dunn growing into a starting point guard in the league. The Bulls jus traded for the free agent they weren’t going to be able to get this summer.
That’s a win for them.