3. Fallers: Otto Porter Jr. and Tomas Satoransky
Otto Porter Jr. – Stats: 8.8/3.4/1, .318/.238/.846, .375 eFG
Whew, where to begin with this? When the Bulls traded Bobby Portis in order to move Jabari Parker, what saved them from ridicule was Porter’s performance across 15 appearances. He put up 17.5/5.5/2.7 on a .483/.488/.906 slash line. The efficiency was never going to remain but nobody could have predicted the seventh-year wing would regress as he has.
Through five games Porter is averaging just 8.8 points, 3.4 boards and one assist per contest. Those are all his lowest stats since the 2014-2015 season.
His shooting percentages are atrocious and he is the highest-paid player on the team. That $27-plus million deal will look worse after he opts in after this season if this keeps up. It also increases to just under $28.5 million.
Porter’s PER (9.3) is even lower than Satoransky’s, and he has zero win shares. Defensively he’s allowing opponents to hit 43.2 percent of their threes. That is way above the 36.4 percent he allows for his career, which includes 37.3 in those 15 appearances with the Bulls.
Fortunately for Porter (and much to the chagrin of Bulls fans), there is nothing behind him. His minutes are down this season but he says that he is healthy. If that is true then he needs to play like it. Chandler Hutchison’s return is big just to have another athletic wing with length. But the Bulls need Porter to get his legs under him.