The Washington Wizards and the Sacramento Kings are reportedly discussing a trade centered around Otto Porter.
The Washington Wizards season has been at a crossroads for months, but recent reports indicate that they may have decided what route they want to go. ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the team is engaged in trade discussions with the Sacramento Kings focused on sending Otto Porter to the West Coast.
Just heard @ZachLowe_NBA and @wojespn discussing possibility of the @SacramentoKings trading for @OttoPorter. The @WashWizards are more willing to listen than they were a few days ago, but they're still asking for a lot. Any negotiations for Porter could come down to the wire.
— Jason Anderson (@JandersonSacBee) February 6, 2019
For the Wizards, this would represent breaking up the three-player core of John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Porter. Not that long ago, this was what the franchise and fans believed could carry the team to Eastern Conference prominence, but these discussions signal that that specific dream may have ended.
The Kings have the most cap room by far, so taking a massive contract like Porter’s (3 years, $81.8 million remaining) is totally doable. They’re also in the midst of a playoff chase, and especially so after the Los Angeles Clippers seemingly took themselves out of the mix with Tuesday’s Tobias Harris trade to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Kings are in prime position to end their 13-year playoff drought just one game out of the No. 8 seed.
Details are sparse, but any deal involving Porter would likely include the Wizards acquiring the expiring deals of Zach Randolph and Iman Shumpert. This would start to give the Wizards some cap flexibility once their contracts come off the books this offseason as they look for what the next iteration of this team will be like, especially with Wall sidelined at least most of the next season as well.