With the loss of “The Truth” Paul Pierce, many people think the Washington Wizards are going to take a step back this season, but anyone who carefully watched how Otto Porter performed in the playoffs knows the team will be just fine. Along with Porter, the Wizards smartly moved up in the draft to select Kelly Oubre Jr., used their mid-level exception to sign Alan Anderson, and still have a now healthy Martell Webster on the roster. For the discussion in this article, we will not consider Gary Neal or Jared Dudley as small forwards although they probably will find themselves playing the wing position during the season.
In the playoffs, Otto Porter, the former 3rd overall pick out of hometown Georgetown, turned into the player Washington expected out of him two years ago. His development was hindered for much of his rookie season because of an early hip injury; however under the mentorship of future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce, Porter grew up quickly.