Washington Wizards’ Otto Porter close to his debut

When the Washington Wizards drafted Georgetown Hoyas’ forward Otto Porter, Jr. with the third overall pick in the 2013 draft, the plan looked like it would be to slide him into the starting lineup with Nene Hilario, Emeka Okafor (now Marcin Gortat), Bradley Beal and John Wall.

Although Beal remains out, the Wizards could be getting Porter back this week.

Porter participated in a practice session that last almost two hours Wednesday.

“I feel good, for the first time, going up and down (the court),” Porter told J. Michael of CSN Washington. “I don’t know about Friday. But I feel like I’m getting more in shape.”

Porter has been out since November 13 with a right hip flexor.

“I liked what I saw today. At the end, he got winded,” Wizards’ head coach Randy Wittman said. “That’s going to be expected. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of bounce he’s got coming in tomorrow on a back-to-back (practice). Like I told you with Chris, it’s kind of a feel. He’s not going to come in and play 30 minutes. We’re going to ease him in.”

It sounds like that if things go well at practice Thursday, we could see Porter when the Wizards host the Milwaukee Bucks.