We are one day away from the beginning of Bull’s training camp and we have news! Unfortunately, this news isn’t great. As we have seen across the sports world this year there are a lot of new precautions being implemented to try and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Well, it appears Bulls forward Otto Porter Jr. didn’t get the memo this time around. Today videos were released of Porter Jr. doing the exact opposite of every guideline.
Ernie really gave this goofball 100 mil man he don’t even know the lyrics😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/zR0F39BL7B
— Darrius (@D_whit98) November 30, 2020
A pandemic wasn’t going to stop Porter Jr. from having a good time this Halloween. Porter Jr. appears to be living his best life at what appears to be a Halloween party. We are less than a month away from the start of the NBA season and this is the type of stuff that will keep players from being on the court. This is still very early in the release of these videos. There hasn’t been any sort of official statement regarding them.
Chicago Media
Bulls media pages took notice of these videos quickly and made their opinions known.
Otto Porter Jr👀 pic.twitter.com/1ozWSYhkzI
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) November 30, 2020
It started with some cryptic messages where people were unsure as to what was actually going on with Porter Jr. Then the video started to spread on Twitter. There’s a lot to unpack in the videos but the one major issue is the timing of this release. With the Bulls starting training camp starting tomorrow this isn’t a good look.
I don’t know the full context of the Otto Porter video, nor do I care too much to find out, but with training camp literally starting tomorrow, this is not ideal.
— Mark (@mkhoops) November 30, 2020
Again, this is still in the early stages of development so expect some more official statements in due time. One would think the Bulls will release a statement after the start of training camp so they can talk to Porter Jr.
Can Porter Jr. be disciplined?
Since we aren’t technically in the season yet I don’t believe there’s anything that can be done about this from the NBA’s standpoint. I’m sure if the season was in full swing they would require him to do a 14-day quarantine and miss games. Right now there’s probably nothing that can be done by the NBA. From the team’s standpoint, a lot could happen. If the Bulls want to make an example of Porter Jr. he could see a suspension coming his way. If they are really upset about this they may even take it one step further.
Porter Jr. to the trading block
Now I’m not saying the team will look to trade him after this. But if they were on the fence with him before the video then this certainly didn’t help. Bulls Twitter is having a good time with this thought.
Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley on their way to trade Otto Porter Jr. after he got caught partying during the pandemic pic.twitter.com/JtkSu0PCrE
— Artūras Karnišovas Fan Club (@arturasfanclub) November 30, 2020
This could certainly be a possibility but I don’t think this would be the last straw. We would have expected to hear a lot more from the Bulls front office about trying to trade him in the offseason. I wouldn’t put too much energy into thinking this will be the driving force for move Otto.
The only way Porter Jr. will see any sort of discipline will be if the team hands it down to him. Bulls executive Artūras Karnišovas may try and set a tone going into this season about COVID protocols.
Porter Jr. may just be the person to make an example out of. Especially heading into training camp. If the Bulls want to ensure a full season with this young group they need all the players to be there. With the league’s extensive 134 page COVID guideline book teams will need to keep a tighter leash on players than normal. I’m sure this won’t be the only COVID-related article we have to post during this Bulls season. Let’s hope the rest of the team takes things a bit more seriously this season so that we can get a full evaluation of this team. Don’t be surprised if Karnišovas uses this situation to lay down the law for this Bulls squad.
