Fact: Otto Porter is a small forward, and by almost all standards, he is the best SF in the draft.
Fact: The Cavs biggest position of need is small forward.
So on paper this seems like a perfect fit and I like Porter’s offensive game a lot. He has phenomenal height and length for a SF at 6 foot 8 with shoes and a wingspan of over 7 foot. He makes good decisions, generally takes care of the basketball and is a pretty good ball rotation passer but not a great passer in general which is evident by his assist numbers. The term unselfish is perfect for him. He is a good athlete but not elite and may be the most well rounded offinsive player in the draft. He can shoot off the dribble, finish at the rim and has a great mid-range game. His dribble pull up jumpers can come moving to his left or right which is not common in players his age. Has an extremely quick release on his shot which seems like less than a second the majority of the time. Good fundamental rebounder that gets decent box out position and works hard for position on the offensive end. Chad Ford calls him an elite defender.
Last year he shot below 25% for 3 in limited attempts where this year he shot 42% in nearly double the attempts. So is this just the natural growth of a young player developing shooting consistency or a mirage? My guess is it will be somewhere in the middle of the two numbers at the next level. He may be destined to be an inconsistent shooter based on guide hand positioning and a flailing elbow which are both really negative traits. Chad Ford calls him an elite defender, but I consider him somewhat of a liability defensively. In the NCAA tournament his weaknesses were easily exposed defensively where he showed below average lateral quickness and was beat on multiple occasions. The good news is, with his length he is able to recover at times after getting beat. He sometimes will take shots early in the shot clock. I normally don’t worry about issues with strength for players this young and Porter is no exception. He can put on 20 pounds of muscle without a problem.
Bottom Line: If the Cavs decide that Porter is the right player for this team I won’t complain too much, but I wouldn’t expect us to pick Porter and have him jump right into the starting lineup to replace Alonzo Gee at SF. He is extremely well rounded and would likely be in the rotation immediately for the Cavs. He has the ability to score from anywhere on the floor including in the post. My biggest concerns are his shot form/consistency and his ability to guard the elite Small Forwards in the NBA.