After three days of not making any moves in free agency, the Brooklyn Nets have reached a deal with restricted free agent Otto Porter. The news was broken by The Vertical’s Shams Charania, who laid out the specifics of the offer sheet, worth $106 million over four years.
RFA Otto Porter has reached agreement on a four-year, $106M max deal with Brooklyn Nets, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 5, 2017
Since the beginning of free agency, Porter’s name has floated around numerous NBA teams seeking the services of a young, improving talented player. Last season, Porter averaged 13.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, while shooting at an impressive 51.6 percent from the field. Porter also developed an excellent 3-point shot (he shot 43.4 percent from behind the arc), and played an important role to the Wizards’ 2017 playoff run.
He received a max offer sheet with the Sacramento Kings on Monday, though the Kings’ latest signings on Tuesday — George Hill and Zach Randolph — likely threw them out of the race for Porter. Even more recently, on Tuesday night, the Utah Jazz reportedly set their sights on the small forward after losing out on franchise cornerstone Gordon Hayward.
As for the Nets, they met with Porter on Monday, though no details emerged about how the meeting went. Point guard Jeremy Lin was also spotted in an Instagram photo with a fan in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, potentially serving as a voice to the Nets’ recruiting services for Porter.
Under General Manager Sean Marks thus far, Brooklyn has not been able to luck out with restricted free agents. Last offseason, the Nets signed Tyler Johnson and Allen Crabbe to offer sheets, but Marks’ plans of securing, yes, young wing players, were soiled once the Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers, respectively, matched their offers. In the Donatas Motiejunas saga in-season, the Houston Rockets were the blockade in preventing the Nets from landing the 26-year-old big man. If fourth time’s the charm (third time in terms of offseason moves), perhaps Marks will finally be able to reap the benefits of restricted free agency.
Porter’s fate lies in the hands of his current club, the Washington Wizards, once the Nets and the small forward make the deal official. NetsDaily clarified that Porter has not yet signed the offer sheet from the Nets; both parties simply reached an agreement.
According to the New York Post’s Brian Lewis, Washington will have until midnight on Saturday to match Brooklyn’s offer, and Yahoo Sports’ Chris Mannix reported the Wizards plan to match it.
