The Kings are expected to meet with free agent forward Otto Porter today, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link).
Porter, 24, is a restricted free agent, having received a qualifying offer last week from the Wizards. The 6’8″ forward met with Washington on Saturday, but the two sides left that meeting without an agreement in place, and it appears Porter’s camp is now seeking out an offer sheet.
While the Wizards are expected to match any offer Porter receives up to the max, he has to find a team willing to give him that sort of offer sheet first, which won’t necessarily be a slam dunk. ESPN’s Zach Lowe suggests (via Twitter) that the RFA market has been “frigid” so far, and if teams expect Washington to match any offer, there’s little incentive for those teams to spend time negotiating with Porter and focusing on him as a potential target.
Still, the Kings have the cap room necessary to make Porter a big offer, and could test the Wizards’ willingness to go up to the max. The Nets have also frequently been mentioned as a suitor for the former third overall pick.
Porter had his best year as a pro in 2016/17, averaging career bests in PPG (13.4), RPG (6.4), and SPG (1.5), while posting an incredibly efficient .516/.434/.832 shooting line. I ranked him eighth overall in Hoops Rumors’ list of this year’s top 50 free agents.