Getty Washington Wizards forward Otto Porter
Thursday night features a tall task for the Washington Wizards, as they welcome the Golden State Warriors and their new-look roster. The already-loaded starting lineup for the Warriors now boasts DeMarcus Cousins at center, who’s returned from injury. On Washington’s side, they continue to play without John Wall, who underwent surgery to repair an injury to his heel.
The Warriors hold the NBA’s third-best record at 33-14, which also comes in as the best in the Western Conference. On the other side, the Wizards sit at 20-26 but have won seven of their last 10 and are just two games back of the No. 8 seed in the East. Bradley Beal’s impressive play has fueled Washington as of late. He’s currently averaging career-best numbers across the board with 24.7 points, 5.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game.
Ahead of the nationally-televised matchup, we’re going to take a look at the Wizards roster and starting lineup. Beyond that, the rumblings around a possible trade involving forward Otto Porter have heated up recently, so we’ll take a deeper dive into the situation.
Wizards Roster & Starting Lineup vs. Warriors
| Position | Expected Starter | Backup | |
| Center | Thomas Bryant | Ian Mahinmi | |
| Power Forward | Jeff Green | Otto Porter | |
| Small Forward | Trevor Ariza | Sam Dekker | |
| Shooting Guard | Bradley Beal | Troy Brown | Jordan McRae |
| Point Guard | Tomas Satoransky | Chasson Randle | Gary Payton II |
Although Porter has come off the bench as of late, he’s consistently seeing big minutes, and for the most part has been on the floor more than Jeff Green. The month of January has been a good one for the 6-foot-8 forward, as he’s averaged 16.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and shot 47.1 percent from the field.
The addition of Trevor Ariza at the trade deadline has worked out well for both the team and player thus far. Through 16 games, Ariza has averaged the second-most points per game in his career (14.7) along with a career-high 6.3 rebounds per game. While he’s struggled with his shot a bit, the loss of a player like Wall who spaces the floor has likely made an impact on that.
Latest on Otto Porter Trade Rumors
The trade talks involving Porter began to ramp up just recently but had been swirling briefly prior to that. Things escalated after a report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania which cited that the team would not trade Beal, but could deal Porter, depending on the outlook ahead of the deadline.
Charania cited the Utah Jazz among the teams who have shown interest in the 25-year-old forward.
“Depending on how the next week to two weeks shape up, the Wizards could look more aggressively toward moving Otto Porter. The Utah Jazz have been an interested suitor for Porter, league sources said.” Charania wrote.
While the Wizards may be open to dealing Porter, ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported just prior that the team isn’t interested in moving him for future assets. If this proves true, it seems the focus would be on moving his contract, which features a cap hit of more than $27.25 million next year. It also has a player option for 2020-21 that brings a cap number of just under $28.5 million, per Spotrac.
As the trade deadline draws closer, Porter will be a key name to monitor.
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