Unexpected retirement announced by a Celtics buyout candidate.
The 15th roster position is still open for the Celtics, and they plan to stay patient with it. This is especially true in light of the unexpected announcement made by one roster candidate on Monday night. Otto Porter Jr. declared his NBA retirement just hours after the Utah Jazz cut him go.
Porter released a statement saying, “I had the opportunity to live my lifelong dream of playing in the NBA for the past 11 years.” “Winning an NBA Championship completed that dream! Regretfully, I am unable to perform to the level I would like to, so I have made the decision to retire.
Last month, Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji were moved from the Toronto Raptors to the Jazz in exchange for the 30-year-old Porter Jr. Since Porter Jr. stayed on the Jazz roster past March 1st, which disqualified him from playing in the postseason with a new team, there has been less and less talk that he would get a buyout and possibly enter the free agent market.
On Monday, though, Utah made the decision to release Porter Jr., which opened up a space on the roster for Darrius Bazely and Kenneth Lofton Jr. Porter Jr. hasn’t played in an NBA game since December, which may indicate that despite his youth, his physique is preventing him from making a significant contribution to the NBA. Only once in his final five seasons—during the 2021–2022 NBA season, when he assisted the Warriors in winning the championship—did he participate in more than 28 games.
Porter Jr., who was chosen by the Wizards with the third overall choice in the 2013 NBA Draft, went on to play 11 NBA seasons with five different clubs. Even after signing a max rookie agreement with the Wizards back in 2016, the small forward never lived up to his expectations as a top-tier draft pick, despite averaging 10.3 points and 4.9 rebounds in 527 regular season games.
The Celtics could hold off on making a decision regarding their final roster place until the postseason for a few more weeks as long as the squad is healthy and free of serious ailments.