NBA Rumors: Magic's Otto Porter Will Just Have To Wait Until Offseason To Find New Home

KEY POINTS

The Orlando Magic may have plans for Otto Porter Jr. beyond this season
Porter is expected to draw interest from several teams in the offseason
Porter remains an essential player that NBA teams may put to good use

The Orlando Magic is going through the motions of finishing the current NBA season and is expected to rebuild in the offseason. One player most expected to be bought out was Otto Porter Jr. However, it seems that Orlando has held off on that and prefers to stick it out with him for the meantime.

Porter was someone high on the lists of NBA teams looking to beef up for the playoffs. Although his numbers were not that impressive for the season with the Chicago Bulls, it remains that he can be a player any team could use off the bench.

The 27-year-old small forward saw a slight improvement with the Chicago Bulls, averaging 12.5 points, five rebounds and 2.1 assists in 54 games. While his numbers are not exactly impressive, he is someone who can be valuable, especially for teams who want players who can contribute in any which way.

But for NBA teams who are considering Porter, the earliest they can do so is by the offseason. There were no discussions of a buyout between the 6-foot-8 cager and the Magic, Marc Stein of the New York Times reported. Stein added that no buyout was also discussed with the Bulls before the trade went down.

The third overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft is in the last year of his four-year contract that he signed in 2018. He is set to earn $28.4 million this season and will become an unrestricted free agent. For the Magic, it makes sense to let the season with Porter play out than buy him out and release cash without getting anything in return.

It will be interesting to see which among the NBA teams will try to pick him up in the offseason. It may be safe to say that Porter will not accept anything lower – meaning souped-up teams are likely to have a hard time getting him to their fold.

There is no telling if the Magic plans to re-sign him and include him in its rebuilding plans. Porter cannot return to the Bulls as well so it will be very interesting to see what lies ahead for the 27-year-old player.