Chicago Bulls: 3 injury prone players that could be dealt soon

3) Chicago Bulls injury prone players who could be gone soon

Otto Porter Jr., Small Forward

It seemed like Donovan and the Bulls really found the right role to place the veteran small forward Otto Porter Jr. in at the outset of this regular season slate prior to the injury problems resurfacing for him. Despite him being the highest paid player on the Bulls current cap sheet, OPJ was slotted into more of a sixth man role at the outset of the season.

OPJ was brought over from the Washington Wizards back at the 2019 trade deadline, but he’s had a host of injury problems since he first arrived in the Windy City. Since first arriving in Chicago in February 2019, OPJ has only played in 45 games with the Bulls (30 of which he’s started in). He missed most of last season too.

So far this season, OPJ has played in 16 games for the Bulls (six of which he’s started in), averaging around 23 minutes on the floor per game. And he’s averaged 11.6 points per game, 6.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.2 blocks. OPJ shot 44.4 percent from the field, an impressive 40.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 83.3 percent from the free-throw line.

That all has amounted to a 0.3 box plus/minus rating, .131 win shares per 48 minutes, 0.2 value over replacement player rating, 1.0 total win shares, 118 offensive rating/112 defensive rating, 58.2 true shooting percentage, and a 16.5 player efficiency rating.

OPJ still offers a lot of value on the open market, especially given how he can allow the Bulls to salary match with other big contracts that NBA teams are trying to divest. This season is the final year of his current contract too.