Follow Us
Prior to Paul George being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Washington Wizards point guard John Wall made a public push to acquire the fellow All-Star.
Despite these comments, Otto Porter Jr., who re-signed with the Wizards on a four-year, $106.5 million deal, isn’t bothered one bit by what his teammate said, according to Chase Hughes of CSN Mid-Atlantic.
“We’re talking about Paul George here. If we could get him on our squad? We could definitely contend for a championship,” Porter said after the press conference to announce his new four-year contract worth $106.5 million on Wednesday.
“It’s just motivation. I will continue to get back into the gym. I didn’t take anything personal. I’m just going to continue to go out there and work and play my game,” Porter said.
Porter has a clear recognition that George is a more talented player than he is at this point in their careers. George is widely regarded as one of the top players in the league behind his strong play on both ends of the floor. That said, Porter has decided to embrace it as a challenge to become a better all-around player that could help take the Wizards to the next level.
At the same time, Porter also sees that Washington still needs more help to get them over the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers and even the Boston Celtics, who have added All-Star forward Gordon Hayward this offseason. The Wizards have gotten past the Eastern Conference semifinals in each of their three playoff appearances in the last four years.
The 24-year-old is coming off a career-best campaign where he averaged 13.4 points on 51.6 percent shooting from the field and 43.4 percent from beyond the arc, with 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.