Koby Altman went to scout Michael Porter Jr. in person

The University of Missouri’s Michael Porter Jr. might be the best scorer in the 2018 NBA Draft. With Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman heading to the SEC Men’s Tournament to scout the highly-touted forward, he may be their selection with the Brooklyn Nets first-round pick.

According to ESPN Cleveland’s Jordan Zirm, Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman was in attendance of Thursday’s game between the University of Georgia and the University of Missouri, as they faced off in the second round of the SEC Men’s Tournament.

That Altman was in attendance for this particular game was no coincidence. Per Zirm (h/t ESPN), Altman was there to scout Missouri’s phenomenal freshman, 6-foot-10 forward Michael Porter Jr.

It was Porter’s first game back since… well… his first game. Two minutes into a game against Iowa State University, Porter suffered a back injury that was initially thought to be a hip injury and then thought to be a leg injury. Porter underwent a surgery that would keep him out between three and four months and possibly the whole season.

With the knowledge that Porter, the second-ranked recruit in ESPN’s 2017 Basketball Recruiting class (to Duke University’s Marvin Bagley III), would be a one-and-done prospect, that likely meant it was the last that anyone would see of Porter until the 2018 NBA Draft Combine.

In those two minutes, Porter had 2 points on his lone field goal attempt and 2 rebounds (1 offensive). Even in that brief time, Porter showed just a glimpse of the threat he could be. He’s an excellent athlete, long and has excellent footwork.

Prior to his college debut, Porter had already shown himself to be the best scorer in the 2018 NBA Draft class.

There’s this video of Porter dominating Dennis Smith Jr. (now a well-respected rookie throughout the NBA) at Stephen Curry’s basketball camp:

There’s this video of Porter dropping 47 points during Jamal Crawford’s Pro-Am competition.

He scored 52 points and reeled in 23 rebounds on Senior Night last year:

At 6-foot-10 and just 19-years-old, Porter has a unique scoring prowess for his size and age.

He can put the ball on the deck, make shots from the low or high post, knock down shots from all three levels. He can finish above the rim with power or below the rim with finesse, through contact if he needs to.

When you factor in his ability to use his size and athleticism to consistently come up with blocks, Porter looks a lot like a mix of a young Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant.

In Thursday’s game, Porter showed off more of his scoring mentality than scoring prowess as he went 5-17 from the field (2-6 from three-point range) in 23 minutes. He had 12 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and 2 turnovers as Missouri lost 62-60.

He might have been pressing with his shot attempts because he was anxious to be back on the floor or maybe he even heard (or saw) that Altman would be in attendance. A couple of his shots were far off the mark, what you would expect of a player who hadn’t played since November but not what you’d expect of a player who was recently shown knocking down 15 straight three-pointers at practice.

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Porter also didn’t put the ball on the floor as much as you’d like or look completely comfortable exploding off the floor. He didn’t shoot a single free-throw in 23 minutes and with 17 shot attempts, which should tell you what you need to know about how much, or little, he attacked the rim.

Altman, who previously handled scouting duties for the Cavaliers in his role as assistant general manager, continues to handle those duties after his promotion to general manager. He’s no doubt seen better from Porter so this performance isn’t likely to move the needle for him too much one way or the other.

The biggest question was likely how Porter would look coming back from injury. Of course it will take time for him to return to full health but it’s good to get a prognosis on how good his body looks right now.

Furthermore, while he shot a low percentage from the field and wasn’t all too aggressive attacking the rim, the ability to create enough space to get 17 shots off is impressive in its own right. Especially after missing 4 months and being a 6-foot-10 forward.

In the event that LeBron James leaves in free agency, there would obviously be a huge hole to fill at small forward. Porter isn’t the level of playmaker is, and it’s not close, but he’s a much better scorer than James was coming into the NBA.

Real Madrid’s Luke Doncic is likely another player who could fill the hole left by James as he’s a playmaker with a great feel for the game and a solid athlete. However, he could be off the board with in the first three selections of the 2018 NBA Draft.

Due to his injury, Porter could still be on the board when the Cleveland Cavaliers make their selection.

Even if James stays, the selection of Porter would take a lot of scoring pressure off of James thanks to his ability to score in isolation and in bunches. James or Kevin Love would have to switch positions to make this move work but a starting lineup of LeBron James – Rodney Hood – Michael Porter Jr. – Kevin Love – Larry Nance Jr. doesn’t sound too bad to me.

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