Atlanta Hawks: 3 small forwards to avoid in free agency

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Atlanta Hawks. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Small forwards the Atlanta Hawks need to avoid No. 1) Otto Porter

After signing a four-year, $106.5 million deal with the Washington Wizards back in 2017, Otto Porter has struggled to stay on the court. He played one season with the Wizards after signing the deal. In the next season, he was one of the victims of the Wizards blowing their roster up.

He only played 66 games for the season, which was in fact the most amount games that he played in a season for this deal. In the 2019-20 season, Porter only played 14 games which had a massive impact on the Bulls’ ability to do anything with their roster, given that he was earning more than $25 million.

Last season, Porter played 25 games with the Bulls and then only three with the Orlando Magic. He was the salary part of the trade which sent Wendell Carter to the Magic in return for Al-Farouq Aminu and Nikola Vucevic. Fortunately, this was the last year of his massive contract.

Porter can be a difference-maker on the court but the problem is, he can’t seem to stay healthy. The Hawks know what it is like to deal with injuries given they lost so many players to long-term injuries last season.