Western Conference Team Connected to Raptors' Otto Porter Jr.

Otto Porter Jr. may actually have some trade value.

It’s been over a month since Porter last saw the court for the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 30, but there appears to still be some interest in the 30-year-old oft-injured forward. Specifically, the Phoenix Suns are said to have considered Porter as a potential option, Yahoo’s Jake Fischer reported Thursday.

Porter has been healthy for a while now but it appears Toronto has decided it’s not worth risking another injury that could sap whatever trade value Porter still has ahead of the 3 p.m. trade deadline.

When healthy, Porter can still help teams. He’s a career 39.7% three-point shooter and can be a versatile defender. In 2022, he helped lead the Golden State Warriors to a championship, averaging nearly 20 minutes per game throughout the playoffs.

The Suns don’t have much in terms of valuable trade assets, but it shouldn’t cost much to acquire Porter who will head into unrestricted free agency this summer. Even a second-round pick would seem like a reasonable return for Porter.

The Raptors could also elect to keep Porter and let his $6.3 million come off their books this summer to create even more salary cap flexibility.

Phoenix has a $6.5 million trade exception from the Cameron Payne deal and would therefore be able to acquire Porter without giving back any salary.

Porter has played in just 23 games for Toronto since signing with the organization prior to the 2022-23 season. He battled a foot injury that limited him to just eight games last season and has been out of the rotation for much of this season in Toronto.