Golden State Warriors may have dodged a bullet with NBA champion

Otto Porter Jr. played a critical role in the Golden State Warriors championship success last season, but unfortunately for the 29-year-old forward, injuries have again got the best of him so far in 2022-23.

Golden State would have been willing to re-sign Porter during the offseason, but he instead left for slightly more money and family ties at the Raptors — his wife is from Toronto. Fortunately for the Warriors, and as disappointing and sad as it is, Porter’s departure from The Bay may have been the best result.

Given the Golden State Warriors’ own injury issues, they may have dodged a bullet in not re-signing Otto Porter Jr. during the offseason.

It appears like the Warriors may have gotten the best out of Porter in his lone season with the team. The former number three overall pick has played just eight games with Toronto this season, beginning with a hamstring injury before dealing with a dislocated toe sustained on November 14.

When asked on Tuesday whether Porter had made progress towards a return, Raptors head coach Nick Nurse stated, “he has not. He has not.” 

Golden State had to carefully manage Porter through both the regular season and the playoffs, but there wasn’t the major injury issues that’s plagued his career pre and post his time with the Warriors.

Porter played in 63 regular season games for the eventual NBA champions, the most he’s played in a season since back in 2017-18 when he was still with the Washington Wizards. He also made 19 playoff appearances, including starting in the championship-deciding game six against the Celtics in Boston.

The Warriors’ recent spate of injury issues, headlined by Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins but also including JaMychal Green, James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga, would have been even further exacerbated by the presence of Porter on the roster.

Mike Luciano of Raptors Rapture already questioned the signing of Porter nearly a month ago, well before this week’s pessimistic outlook from Nurse.

"“Porter has been stuck in first gear for most of his Raptors tenure and shows no signs of shifting anytime soon. Imagine if that money was spent on a shooter that didn’t have all the concerns surrounding him”, Luciano wrote."

He may have spent less than 12 months at the Warriors, but Porter garnered plenty of love in The Bay and will forever go down as a championship player. Here’s hoping he can get back on the court consistently some time in the near future.