NBA Free Agency rumors: Jazz prioritize Otto Porter after Gordon Hayward departure
With the fallout of Gordon Hayward joining the Celtics seemingly endless, the Jazz are now turning their attention to Otto Porter in free agency.
Gordon Hayward joining the Boston Celtics obviously is a huge move with major implications for other free agents. First, Kelly Olynyk officially became a free agent because of the signing, and now the Utah Jazz has a new priority in Otto Porter.
The Jazz had seemingly put all of their efforts into signing Hayward this offseason, and rightfully so. Now, with all of their eggs now breaking in their one basket, the team has to scramble to find a replacement for their former star.
Just a little while after Hayward announced he was heading to Boston, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported that the Jazz were looking to move their energy into getting Washington Wizards restricted free agent Otto Porter onto their roster.
Sources: The Jazz plan to make Wizards restricted free agent Otto Porter a priority after losing Gordon Hayward.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) July 5, 2017
The ripple effect of Hayward’s decision obviously impacted a ton of free agents’ offers, including Porter, as the teams involved in the Hayward sweepstakes were waiting on a decision before making other pursuits. To add onto the drama, the star forward’s indecision apparently upset other free agents already who were waiting on his decision throughout the Fourth of July.
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It doesn’t look like the energy that the Jazz will put into Porter will be worth it, as other teams are already pursuing the Wizards forward. The Sacramento Kings have reportedly offered Porter a max offer sheet already this offseason, and the Wizards are apparently not letting teams bully them around in this free agency period. They reportedly are ready to match any offers that get put out there for Porter, which doesn’t bode well for the Jazz.
It’ll be tough for Porter to want to leave Washington, after the team made a real run against the top seeded Celtics in this past postseason, falling just short in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Meanwhile, the Jazz also made it to the second round, but that was with Hayward in their lineup.