Raptors fans will love Otto Porter Jr. after first press conference

The Toronto Raptors were unusually busy in the first few hours of free agency, as they resigned Chris Boucher and Thad Young within the first 120 minutes. They immediately pivoted to addressing the lack of shooting by taking Otto Porter Jr. away from the champion Golden State Warriors.

Porter signed a two-year deal using a good chunk of the Raptors’ mid-level exception. While he had a reputation as an injury-prone tertiary star from his days in Washington, he was able to turn his reputation completely upside-down by contributing to Golden State’s title.

The Raptors held an introductory press conference for Porter, as they are trying to show off their new addition to the basketball world. Porter, who is married to a woman from Toronto, said that the decision to leave Golden State and join the Raptors wasn’t as difficult as one might assume.

Porter said that he was intrigued by Toronto’s style of play, which seems perfectly built for a player with his skillset. Porter thinks that this Raptors team is capable of “going back to the Finals” in short order, which is quite the compliment from a player who just slipped a ring on his finger.

Otto Porter Jr. should impress with the Toronto Raptors.

Porter averaged 8.2 points and 5.7 rebounds last year, which should be a solid baseline of what to expect during his Raptors tenure. A career 40% 3-point shooter, Porter is legitimately excellent from long range. This should be a massive help for a Toronto bench unit that was much maligned last year.

Porter was very complimentary of Scottie Barnes, adding his name to the list of current and former players willing to sing the praises of the dynamic sophomore. Porter said that Barnes is “going to be good for years to come” and declared that he would eventually be an All-Star.

GM Bobby Webster said that Porter “understands what it takes” to win a championship in this league. Even on a team that has many holdovers from the 2019 title-winners, adding a player with Porter’s experience in the league will help keep a young roster focused on the task at hand.

Considering that Ujiri and the Raptors very seldom make big free agent signings like this, the addition of Porter was a somewhat unexpected move that helps Toronto get much better in the short term. Watching Porter serve as one of the first players off the bench will be a sight to see next year.