After being traded to the Orlando Magic as part of the Nikola Vucevic trade at the deadline, Otto Porter Jr. is expected to stay put with the organization rather than taking a buyout, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times.
Porter, who is earning $28.5 million in the final year of the contract he initially signed as an offer sheet with the Brooklyn Nets, is now on his third team. But Stein reported there had been no buyout talks back when Porter was on the Bulls, either.
Otto Porter has had no buyout discussions with the Magic and is on course to finish the season with Orlando, league sources say.
I’m told Porter likewise had no buyout discussions with Chicago before the Bulls traded him to Orlando in the Nikola Vucevic deal.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 9, 2021
Since joining Orlando, Porter has played 66 minutes across three games, averaging eight points per game and shooting just 36 percent from the field. Porter has dealt with foot injuries the past two seasons and is currently out dealing with more pain there, but his injury history is stuffed with maladies on nearly every body part since 2017.
It’s peculiar that Porter would not seek out a buyout despite playing on a lottery team, but if he can get healthy, Orlando could provide him an opportunity to get actual minutes and rebuild his value to at least get a contract this summer. Because of his poor health and lack of a track record the past couple seasons, it may be that no contenders expressed interest in signing him in the first place.