Washington Wizards faithful knew the time was coming. The time finally came around 9:40 ET on July 4th. Otto Porter had a max offer sheet, and signed, courtesy of the lowly Brooklyn Nets.
The last few days have been hectic for restricted free agent Otto Porter. He got an offer from the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, but didn’t sign. Then, the Kings signed Zach Randolph and George Hill to large deals, and took themselves out of the running for Porter. Cap space was drying up around the league, leaving only a few teams left that could offer Porter a max deal.
Well, Porter found one of the few teams, and acted quick, agreeing to a 4-Year max deal with Brooklyn.
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
Because of Brooklyn’s lack of assets and talent, it always seemed that the Nets would be the team to max Otto. Of course, Washington has said it will match any offer Porter receives, so this is just a formality.
Still for Wizards fans, and management, they will hold plenty of disdain towards the Nets. First, they got fleeced by Boston in the Paul Pierce–Kevin Garnett trade, essentially creating the Celtics team we’ve come to hate, but now they’ve maxed Porter just for the hell of it.
Wizards messing w/Nets wouldn't surprise me. Teams with RFA's have been less than happy w/Brooklyn tossing around huge offer sheets. https://t.co/CQUoszgPuz
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) July 5, 2017
Washington tying up the Nets’ cap space until June 12th does nothing to change how much the team will have to pay Otto, and it probably won’t affect the Nets offering max deals in the future. It’s annoying, but it’s the way restricted free agency goes currently.
Next: Wizards Agree to 1-Year, Min. Deal with Mike Scott
Expect the formal news on the Wizards matching the Nets’ offer sometime soon.