Chicago Bulls: 3 players that could go with Arturas Karnisovas as lead exec
1. Otto Porter Jr, Small Forward
The priciest player on the cap sheet for the Bulls at this point in time is the 6-foot-8 and 200 pound small forward Otto Porter Jr. Next year, OPJ will be due more than $28 million. He does bring a lot of value to the table when healthy as a modern two-way wing. But the problem is he’s not performing up to that price tag since he landed in the Windy City last year.
The only way that the Bulls should part ways with someone like OPJ at a position of need, is if there’s a player that comes in return via a trade, free agency, or the NBA Draft. The Bulls can’t really afford to lose more depth in the wing rotation, but freeing up the cap sheet isn’t a bad move if it comes with the right risks.
For much of the 2019-20 regular season prior to the hiatus, the Bulls didn’t have a healthy OPJ in the mix anyway. He’s dealt with injury problems for much of his NBA career and that didn’t slow this season. Prior to the hiatus, Porter Jr. had only played in 14 games while averaging 11.9 points per game, 3.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 steals, while shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from beyond the arc.
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Advanced numbers and per game stats were much more favorable for OPJ in the 15 games he played after landing in Chicago at the trade deadline last season than they were this year. He registered a box plus/minus rating of 1.0, 0.3 value over replacement player rating, .112 win shares per 48 minutes, and a 55.0 true shooting percentage.
Most also forget that OPJ has only played n 29 games in more than a full calendar year now as a member of the Bulls.