Kevin Porter Jr always drew mixed reviews from his college days. There was no doubt about his talent and upside as a lottery pick, but his controversies off the court and attitude made him slip all the way to the 30th spot.
And judging by what we’d seen during his rookie year with the Cleveland Cavaliers, it seemed like the Cavs have landed a major steal with him, as he blossomed as a promising scorer towards the end of the year and was poised for a breakout season in 2021.
Now, however, off-court issues have once again raised several questions about the 20-year-old’s habits, as he was recently arrested due to possession of a loaded firearm, according to a report by Chris Manning of Fear The Sword.
Porter Jr was held in for “improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle [and] transport loaded firearm in a motor vehicle accessible to the operator or any passenger without leaving the vehicle,” according to Mahoning County Sheriff’s records.
“Per an incident report, the Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to Interstate 76 near Milton Township — a little over an hour from Cleveland — at 2:05 a.m. to report a single-rollover crash. At the scene, officers found a 2020 Mercedes Benz GLE that Porter was driving. Per the reporter, he was injured and cooperated with EMS on the scene.
Upon looking into the car, a loaded .45-caliber handgun was found, as was suspected marijuana. Porter was then arrested and charged with improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, failure to control and misdemeanor possession of marijuana,” Chris Manning reported.
The Cavaliers recently released a statement regarding the situation, claiming that they are aware of the issue and will continue to investigate it in the following hours:
“We are aware of the situation involving Kevin Porter Jr. and are in the process of gathering information. We have spoken with Kevin and will continue to address this privately with him as the related process evolves,” read the statement.
The USC product is currently held on a $4,000 bond and once he’s unlikely to be waived by the team, these kinds of issues will have to be addressed right now if he doesn’t want to waste his promising career.
