Jazz to waive veteran forward

The Jazz intend to waive veteran forward Otto Porter Jr., sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

As cap expert Yossi Gozlan observes (via Twitter), Porter is not eligible for the playoffs, as he was waived after March 1 — the deadline for players to be released while maintaining postseason eligibility.

A report earlier today said Utah plans to sign young big men Darius Bazley and Kenneth Lofton Jr. to three-year contracts that are mostly non-guaranteed. Since the Jazz have 14 players on standard contracts and a 15th — Taevion Kinsey — on a 10-day deal, they needed to cut someone to create roster space, with Porter being that roster casualty. Kinsey’s 10-day contract is also likely to be cut short.

Porter, 30, was traded from Toronto to Utah at the deadline in the deal that saw Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji moved to the Raptors. He never actually played in a game for the Jazz, who have been prioritizing young players for the second consecutive season after being in the hunt for the play-in tournament prior to the deadline.

A former No. 3 overall pick, Porter developed into a quality three-and-D player with the Wizards early in his career, which has unfortunately been derailed by injuries over the past six seasons. After helping the Warriors win a title as a key reserve in 2021/22, he signed a two-year, $12.3M contract with Toronto, but only appeared in 23 combined games for the Raptors the past two seasons.

Assuming Porter clears waivers, which is a virtual certainty, the Jazz will carry a $6.3M dead-money cap hit.