Washington Wizards head coach Randy Wittman has a tough decision ahead of the 2015-16 season: fit the personnel to the system, or fit the system to the personnel.
The Wizards enjoyed a fair amount of success during the postseason by going to a smaller lineup, playing Paul Pierce at power forward for long stretches. With Pierce now off to rejoin Doc Rivers with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Wizards face the decision of finding another stretch-four on their roster, or returning to heavy usage of the traditional lineups that made them a good, but not great, team in the regular season.
Their offseason moves suggest they're leaning toward the former, and Otto Porter, who was a breakout player alongside Pierce in the postseason, is ready to try his hand at becoming a stretch-four.
"Definitely," Porter told SiriusXM NBA Radio. "Because that's who the NBA is transitioning, you know, to smaller lineups. So being able to stretch out as a four is going to be key, and that is something with our coaching we might end up doing. It's definitely something I'll be comfortable with."
The No. 3 overall pick in 2013, Porter spent the bulk of his time at small forward through two seasons. But at 6-foot-9 with a knack for offensive rebounding - and a respectable, if inconsistent outside stroke - Porter is the best-suited wing on the team to slide over in smaller lineups.
The Wizards have reportedly floated the idea of using Martell Webster in that role, but Webster is two inches shorter and may have slimmed down too much this offseason to play power forward consistently. The team also acquired Jared Dudley, a combo-forward, so Wittman will have some options to experiment with in training camp.
Porter emerged as a key rotation piece late last season and into the playoffs, and at age 22, he may be the Wizards' best in-house means of pushing the team forward next season. As a sophomore, Porter averaged six points and three rebounds, pushing those numbers to 10 and eight, respectively, in 10 postseason games.
