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As expected, the Nets will pursue Otto Porter, a restricted free agent. David Aldridge of NBA.com reports that the Wizards small forward will meet with interested teams Sunday in Washington. The Nets as well as the Kings are expected to attend.
Teams will meet w/Otto Porter in D.C. starting tomorrow. Max sheet likely to follow early in week; Wizards would then have 48 hrs to match.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 1, 2017
Nets, Kings among likeliest teams to aggressively court Porter. Wizards have indicated they’ll match any offer sheet up to/including max.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 1, 2017
Aldridge wrote earlier Saturday that a meeting between Porter, his agent David Falk, and Wizards management failed to produce an agreement. Only the Wizards can offer Porter, 23, a fifth year. Now, however, they can simply wait to see what the offer sheet proposes and match if they want.
Most but not all pundits believe that Washington will match up to and including the max, as Aldridge writes. The max would entail a four-year, $106 million offer, starting at $24.75 million. The Nets —or the Kings— could enhance their chances by adding sweeteners like money upfront or a trade kicker of up to 15 percent.
Among the skeptics are ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Amin Elhassan. Windhorst said although the NBA has rules against teams signalling whether they will match or not, the Wizards keep leaking that they’re willing to matched. He wondered on “The Jump” if they were really ready to make the financial commitment. Elhassan suggested Sean Marks would keep making offers to restricted free agents, “throwing darts,” until one hits the bullseye.
It is not certain that Porter will choose the Nets, of course. The Kings, for all their problems, have had a good off-season thus far, drafting D’Aaron Fox, Justin Jackson, Harry Giles and Frank Mason III.
Keith Smith of RealGM tweets that the Nets may also be interested in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope despite their stockpile of guards, enhanced last week with the trade for D’Angelo Russell.
Told that BRK has serious interest in Otto Porter & Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. SAC has interest in Porter only, due to talent already at SG.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 1, 2017
The Nets wouldn’t be able to sign both to max offer sheets without some significant roster moves.
Under league rules, teams can tender offer sheets at any time after July 1, but the 48-hour matching period doesn’t start until July 6, meaning a final decision is unlikely to come until July 8, a week away.
It’s unlikely that the Nets make any moves prior to knowing what Porter will do.
- Nets lose out on more targets; hold out hope for Otto Porter - Brian Lewis - New York Post
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