To say that “Otto Porter Experience” did not go as planned is an understatement.
Then again, would the little veteran of the future really exceed the $ 56 million that the Bulls would have had to pay the last two years of his contract when they acquired him from Washington at the end of last season?
Not likely
The errors of the old front office regime are still at the center and center as part of the cleansing that now faces the executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas.
Porter will exercise his $ 28.4 million on his business this low season, evaluating him as any commercial candidate. This is almost guaranteed.
What is not guaranteed?
That may fill the hole that still remains in the small forward spot since the Bulls swapped Jimmy Butler in 2017.
Butler was not just a top scorer presence and a foreman at the three, but an elite defender. Something that this reconstruction has yet to come close to reproduction.
It would never have been Porter, who was simply a patch to remedy the injury caused by Jabari Parker’s signature. And do the Bulls really think it will be Chandler Hutchison someday?
Not with the former Boise State former first-round pickup found more frequently in the training room than in the field.
No, with very little room for the roster from at least until 2021 out of season, the draft may be the only answer that the organization has tried to solve the problem.
This is where the little striker Auburn Isaac Okoro comes into play.
At 6 feet-6, Okoro is one of the best wing defenders that shooting has to offer. Like Butler when he was leaving Marquette, Okoro can oversee one to four and has the mentality of turning into a team.
Okoro would be there at number 7 for the bulls if the lottery balls couldn’t bounce the right way and move them from their current position? Unlikely. Okoro is expected to go from three to six.
So the Bulls would need help.
More than Porter or Hutchison have shown they can deliver.
1. Isaac Okoro – Auburn – Outdoor filming is cause for concern, but scouts believe Okoro has the mentality to do whatever it takes to be an extraordinary person at the NBA level.
2. Deni Avdija – Maccabi Tel Aviv – At 6-9 years old, the nineteen-year-old Avdija is the poster boy for a step forward. His way of playing is out of the charts due to its size, and he has an altruistic and altruistic mentality.
He has shown he can defend, but there are doubts as to how this will translate to the NBA level. Not even the only questions. Avdija has struggled to be a consistent outdoor shooter, doing most of its best damage by scoring pick-and-roll and attacking paint.
Karnisovas has a great sensitivity for international play, so that’s also why Avdija might be in the game for the Bulls.
3. Aaron Nesmith – Vanderbilt – The likelihood that Nesmith will pull 52.2 percent from three points at the NBA level like he did in Vandy last season, well, isn’t happening.
This does not change the fact that at 6-6 with a wingspan of 6-10, Nesmith is a lethal shooter like this shot, especially when exiting the move.
4. Saddiq Bey – Villanova – Like Nesmith, Bey was a three point shooter, hitting 45 percent last season. He’s a little late, playing the high school guard point at 6-1 before popping up at 6-8.
What pleases Bey’s scouts – some on Nesmith – is his ability to defend even the opposing wings. He could very well be the second small striker off the board after the interview process.
