- Young Rockets star facing steep penalties for his violent attack in New York City
- Rockets looking to move Porter Jr. in an effort to avoid controversy
- Draft compensation is on the table as a potential trade incentive
In the days after Kevin Porter Jr.’s New York City arrest, the Houston Rockets are working fast to cut all ties with the young NBA guard. In a report by Shams Charania on Wednesday evening, he revealed that Houston has elected to seek a trade for Porter Jr. in light of his latest ordeal.
“The Houston Rockets are working to trade guard Kevin Porter Jr. in the wake of his charges of felony assault and strangulation due to an alleged attack on his girlfriend,” wrote Shams. Porter Jr., who was picked 30th in the 2019 draft, still has four years left on his deal with a team option for the final year at $15.86 million.
Considering his history of incidents, and the details of this latest one, there won’t be many teams on the market for Porter Jr., but the Rockets will include a few assets to sweeten the package for any interested party.
“The Rockets have contacted multiple teams offering draft compensation as an incentive to receive Porter. In deal scenarios using Porter’s contract, the Rockets would be using his salary to target a player under contract who can play immediately and help the team,” reported Charania. “The Rockets are keeping all options open with the future of Porter.”
The Future Is Bleak For Porter Jr.
The fate of Kevin Porter Jr. is no doubt tied to what is uncovered in the investigations. With both the police and the NBA league office gathering intel on the situation at hand, we can expect a follow-up statement sometime within the next few days or longer.
At this point, however, it’s hard to see how Kevin Porter Jr. keeps his NBA career alive. Even for someone with no prior history of incidents, this particular case is very ugly, and it would be a bad look if the NBA let it go unanswered. For Porter Jr. specifically, though, the odds are stacked against him, given his questionable past and his inefficient play on the basketball court.
Rockets Cannot Afford Distractions
At just 23 years old, Kevin Porter Jr. is exactly the kind of player a young team like the Rockets should treasure. He’s shown flashes of star potential before and was pretty solid in the 2022-23 season with averages of 19.2 points, 5.7 assists, and 5.3 rebounds per game on 44.2% shooting.
Unfortunately for Porter Jr., the Rockets just can’t afford to keep him on after re-making their roster this summer. By adding some quality veterans in the summer, the Rockets are actively looking to establish a winning culture in the locker room, and Porter Jr. is too big of a risk to take on right now.
The question is, which team will be willing to take a chance on him? No doubt, Kevin Porter Jr. will generate some kind of interest on the market, but it could take some time before any GM decides to give him another chance. At the very least, we can confidently say that his days with the Rockets are numbered now.
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