The Cleveland Cavaliers have come up with two options: either trade or waive their young guard Kevin Porter Jr after the locker room outburst.
What Happened to Kevin Porter Jr?
The Athletic acquired a report from several sources that the Cleveland organization is moving to trade or release Kevin Porter Jr after a blow-up at the Cavalier locker rooms on Friday.
The 20-year-old missed most of his games with Cleveland this NBA Season 2020-2021 due to personal reasons. Slowly recovering from the struggles, the former USC Trojan player sat in on a Friday night game. The Cleveland Cavaliers routed the New York Knicks with a three-point lead, 106-103.
After the Cavs picked their sixth win of the season, Porter Jr got into a confrontation with the Cleveland officials. Multiple sources said that Porter Jr complained that his locker had been relocated to a spare room to give room for newly-acquired Taurean Prince.
Last week, Prince was traded by the Brooklyn Nets to Cleveland, together with his teammate Jarrett Allen in a mega trade featuring Houston Rockets guard James Harden and several players.
The management immediately told Porter to clear his locker as the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers players learned that the 2019 first-round pick would be released from the team.
According to ESPN, Porter Jr still had one-year left of his $1.7 million contract after the Cavaliers selected the option last month.
While the organization is still pursuing how to utilize Porter Jr., head coach John Blair Bickerstaff said that the team's plan had progressed. Porter Jr's return to the court meant a lot for the Cavaliers, despite being detached from the team for some weeks.
Things could have turned out well if only Porter Jr had controlled his emotions. On Monday, when the Cavaliers took part in their first practice with Prince and Allen, Bickerstaff said that he was upset about the things that he was expecting from Porter Jr.
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"We all want to see Kevin be successful and I still feel that way, so whatever it is that happens in the future for him, I hope nothing but the best for him. It's part of our responsibility as coaches to give everyone our all and try to make the best of every situation and I can say that we did that," Bickerstaff said.
There's a tinge of curiosity left for the Cavs to explore Porter Jr's talent. However, it did not work as planned because of his problems outside the court that hampered his blossoming basketball career.
Porter Jr could have formed a dynamic team with other young players, including Darius Garland and Collin Sexton, but this time, it's better to look for a new team who can groom him in-and-out the court. Bickerstaff knew that the move was hard on his part, but he only wished the best for Porter Jr.
In a report by Fox8, a loaded handgun and marijuana were found in Porter Jr's car after he figured in a car accident last November. Charges against him were dismissed after he reported that he had no idea how the gun got inside his car.
Before the Cavs drafted him as the No. 30 overall pick in 2019, Porter Jr was also suspended when he was in Southern California due to the same personal reasons.
In his rookie year in the NBA, Porter Jr had an average of 10 points, 3.2 boards, and 2.2 assists per game in a span of 50 games.
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