Washington Wizards trade rumors 2016: Wizards' future relies on young star's progression

The 2016–17 season for the Washington Wizards is a crucial one as they are hoping to make it past the horrible 2015–16 they had.

Despite having a relatively good team, the Wizards only managed 41–41 in the season to finish 10th in the Eastern Conference.

Furthermore, they had a lot of negative things come their way, with CBS Sports listing all of the things that contributed to the Wizards' fall.

However, they retooled their lineup and added names like Ian Mahinmi to try and turn things around and get them back to the post- season.

Most would argue that the big thing to consider is John Wall's performance and whether Bradley Beal will be healthy enough to contribute to the team.

All that is true, but one thing that should be considered by the team is the progression of Otto Porter as a role player to possibly being a real threat for the Wizards.

As reported by Fan Sided, Porter is compared to the likes of Tayshaun Prince during his best years with the Detroit Pistons.

Picked up third overall by the Wizards back in 2013, Porter is still waiting for that breakout season that can turn him into a household name.

He has spent three seasons with the Wizard, and he averages 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game for the Wizards.

However, he had some of his best success last year, scoring 11.6 points and grabbing 5.2 rebounds in 75 games for Washington.

It is also worth noting that this year is Porter's contract year, which means he controls his destiny on just how much his worth will be as he signs a new contract in the league.

At the moment, Porter is set to earn around $5.8 million in the coming season. But with the salary cap preparing to rise even more after this campaign, Porter has a chance to finally break out and make a name for himself.

Ultimately, that may help the Wizards and make them an Eastern Conference threat.