How and When Will Otto Porter’s Understandable, But Frustrating Tenure with the Bulls Come to an End? And Other Bulls Bullets

Apr 01, 2020

Don’t lie, you know this would be amazing.

Lowkey, not opposed to each NBA team selecting one representative for a 1v1 bracket to crown a champion.

Only have to quarantine 30 players and seeding is based on the team's overall record.

Just hit me up, @NBA. I'll get this started.

— Elias Schuster (@Schuster_Elias) April 1, 2020

Since Otto Porter joined the Bulls, on February 8th, 2019, he’s played only 29 of the team’s 93 games. Injury trouble has been a major setback for the veteran, especially the most recent foot injury that caused him to miss 50 straight games. While it’s often unfair to complain about a player’s injuries, it can still be incredibly frustrating. In the Bulls case, they went out of their way to bring in Porter last season, who is now – by far – the team’s highest-paid player on the roster. To his credit, he played well for a stretch last year, but he hasn’t stayed on the court long enough to prove he’s worth his number on the payroll sheet.

I like Porter as a player, don’t get me wrong. With his two-way talent and balanced offensive skillset, I would still consider him a solid asset for nearly any team (when healthy). However, Chicago just hasn’t been able to get what they traded for yet, and it’s fair to question whether or not they ever will. And that’s what makes his player option this summer all the more annoying. The Athletic’s John Hollinger predicted how each player or team option will go down this offseason, and to no one’s surprise, he has Porter opting into his $28.5 million contract. Sure, I think it’s very possible Porter has a solid bounce-back 2020-21 season and helps the Bulls in the process, especially when you consider he’ll be playing for a future contract, but if he doesn’t, we could look back on this free agency as another missed opportunity.

I know there’s pretty much nothing (or rather, nobody) exciting about this upcoming free-agent class – PLUS everyone is saving for 2021 – but it never hurts to have some available cap space. Who knows, the Bulls could bolster their bench a little or sign a couple expiring contracts that could be valuable at the trade deadline. I mean, it’s quite possible that Porter can be a trade candidate come next season too, but that money won’t be easy to move. All I’m saying is that we can probably all agree Porter isn’t a part of the team’s long-term plans, and I wouldn’t hate to see the Bulls move on from him sooner rather than later. I also think it would be quite nice to give a new front office some more cap space/flexibility this offseason (especially if the cap goes down) … but alas, I’m just dreaming out loud (in writing). Porter isn’t going anywhere.

The NBA will have to make a major decision soon about whether or not to start withholding money from player’s paychecks. In the league’s CBA, there is language that allows for a small percentage to be retracted from a player’s salary for each canceled game. Sometimes all this nitty-gritty league stuff can be hard to understand, so if you’re interested in any of that, I recommend reading Bleacher Reports latest. The article kind of maps things out in layman’s terms.

Many owners across the NBA have wanted a later start to the NBA season that stretches into the summer, and it’s quite possible due to these circumstances, they’ll finally get to see what that’d be like.

"Honestly, it’s something that I’ve been asking for for more than 10 years. I’ve always thought that we should start on Christmas and go into the summer."
Mark Cuban weighs in on how the NBA could alter its schedule. pic.twitter.com/0ooxYLpd2D

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 1, 2020

I understand wanting to “dominate” the summer months (less competition with football and baseball is more regional than national). However, I do understand some of the viewership concerns. More people are out and about during June-August, so it fair to ask whether people will still feel equally inclined to stay inside and watch the games. I know that feels like a silly question … but it’s a legit one.

I like when the arrow goes up.

Playing around with @cleantheglass' new Trends tool and… Hello, Coby pic.twitter.com/2KOQmhQ7uD

— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) April 1, 2020

Thaddeus Young is thanking ESPN on behalf of all of us.

https://twitter.com/yungsmoove21/status/1245100979009261574?s=20

SO. DOMINANT.

11/30/1996 – Bulls are down six with six minutes to go in the 4th. MJ has 10 points.

He finishes with 29 and a Bulls win.

Here are his 19 points in half of one quarter pic.twitter.com/PWaGA6F4pq

— Will Gottlieb (@wontgottlieb) April 1, 2020

10/10 recommend Benny’s podcast.

Click here to listen to the first episode of my new podcast! https://t.co/FFbJDY9Po0 #BetweenTwoHorns pic.twitter.com/1JDxNB62PC

— Benny (@bennythebull) April 1, 2020

written by

Elias Schuster

Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.

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