According to Kevin Porter Jr. is he traded according to Houston Rockets The Athletic se Shams Charania. The Cleveland Cavaliers receive a protected pick in the second round. Porter, the overall no. 30 in the 2019 NBA draft, spent his rookie season in Cleveland, but due to personal issues, he has so far not played this season.
Porter originally dropped to number 30, largely due to character concerns. According to a report by Cleveland.com, he was accused of punching a woman in August, and in November he was arrested on suspicion of possessing a weapon and marijuana. Porter reportedly had an outburst after his locker room was moved to another part of the locker room earlier this week, leading to Cleveland’s decision to trade him or release him.
Porter had a very promising vegetable season. He averaged 10 points on 44 percent shooting, but he pushed the score above 14 points per game from late January to early March when he got more playing time. He did enough at that time to wonder if he, not Darius Garland, the no. 5 was not the right long-term partner for Collin Sexton in Cleveland.
Now he will join a suddenly crowded Rockets backcourt. The starting spots are currently occupied by John Wall and Victor Oladipo, and veteran Eric Gordon has also been entrenched. This allows Porter to compete for reserve minutes with players like Mason Jones, Ben McLemore and Danuel House.
But Houston is unlikely to argue with James Harden playing for the Brooklyn Nets anytime soon. Swinging young people at high risk and high reward is usually a wise move under such circumstances. On paper, this is the kind of move the Rockets need to make. We took a look at his potential in Cleveland. Now the Rockets will be hoping to find more steady production from the former first round. Here’s how both teams rated in the deal.
Cleveland Cavaliers: C-
If the circumstances are ignored, it’s a disaster for Cleveland. The Cavs got 50 games out of Porter. They traded four second-round picks and $ 5 million in cash to get the number 30 pick and take him. Now they only get one choice back. Cleveland is not Oklahoma City or New Orleans. Koby Altman does not sit on top of a pile of assets he can burn at ease. It is a significant loss to lose all the choices for someone who eventually had to be dumped.
But given where Cleveland is after a surprising 7-7 start through 14 games, it’s a fair loss. It was supposed to be a rebuilding season, and rebuilding seasons offer some patience. Last season, the Cavs may have been able to work with Porter through his problems. But with the outbreak of Garland and Sexton and a sudden star defense, it looks like Cleveland prefers culture over talent. This is a sensible choice. Garland, based on his play so far this season, has proven his place as a long-term forward in Cleveland. This makes the tearing of Porter, despite his raw ability, an easier pill to swallow. The Cavs soon do not want waiting assistance.
But accountability is universal, and now a young team has seen firsthand what happens when someone does not buy into the program. It’s still a bad outcome for a young team that is still years of real strife, but the Cavs managed to make the lemonade from these lemons.
Houston Rockets: B +
We must start here with the clear reservation. Porter’s situation is confusing. The lack of demand for his services made sense in light of the accusations against him. That would have been enough to keep him off several teams, and what happened in the locker room earlier this week didn’t exactly help. This degree is only based on a basketball transaction, and in that arena it is a sensible addition.
Right now, Houston has a pressure backfield. This can change quickly. The widespread belief around the league is that Victor Oladipo will leave the Rockets as a free agency. If the Rockets keep plodding, they can easily turn him around on the deadline into a deal that brings in more draft capital and opens up minutes. If this is indeed the path the Rockets are following, it will point to a full-scale rebuild over the next few seasons. This is a wise way of acting. Houston controls its first round pick in 2022 and 2023, but not in 2024, 2025 or 2026. The Rockets are encouraged to be as bad as possible in that two-year window so that by the time they start making choices after the Thunder, they have their long-term core in place.
A good way to be bad is to spend minutes on young players. Players with Porter’s upside are rarely available for the price Houston paid. In an ideal world, he will struggle through his growing pains for the next few seasons and grow into someone who can help the Rockets win by the time the Thunder start collecting their debt. There is no guarantee that he will ever overcome the issues that Cleveland dealt with, but for a protected choice in the second round, Houston does not have to do it for him. They can reduce him because he has invested very little should the need arise.
The Rockets are not exactly the image of stability right now, but James Harden is gone. They could theoretically move into a period of relative normalcy now that he’s gone, and swinging the talented youngsters is something normal rebuilding teams do. Porter might have benefited from a stronger culture, but if the teams that could offer such an environment were interested, he would probably play for one now. Houston was the team that wanted him. This indicates a willingness to make the necessary commitment to its growth, and given the playing time that will probably be available soon, this is a chance for a clean start in a team with low expectations. That’s about as much as Porter can ask at the moment.