The Golden State Warriors have lost quite a bit of supporting talent so far this offseason.
There was some hope the front office would be able to secure Otto Porter Jr. heading into 2022-23, but they didn’t.
Instead Porter Jr. is heading to the Toronto Raptors on a two-year, $12.4 million contract.
This week he spoke to Eric Koreen of The Athletic and revealed what went into his decision to pick Toronto over other offers.
Porter says he has a few offers, but Toronto was “definitely a place I wanted to go to.” Combo of team and it being his wife’s home were huge for him.
— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) July 6, 2022
It’s certainly hard to fault Porter Jr. for his rationale, but there is a pattern starting to emerge. Juan Toscano-Anderson and his girl are off running wild in L.A. now. Andrew Wiggins is likely heading elsewhere. The Golden State roster will look very different in 2022-23 than it did last year.
Normally, winning a chip leads to teams running it back. Clearly the Warriors are operating under a different philosophy, though.
Stephen Curry recently endorsed Kevin Durant returning to the franchise. If that happens, then obviously everyone will forget about a handful of lost role players. But if it doesn’t, and if the Warriors continue to bleed supporting talent with no notable pick-ups, they definitely won’t be the title favorites moving forward.
As for Porter Jr., it’s nice to see him get paid. This is a dude that once went viral for throwing a controversial mega-party. Clearly he has grown up since then.
— Game 7 (@game7__) July 6, 2022
You love to see it.
What does the future ultimately hold for all parties involved?
Time will tell.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
