Cleveland Cavaliers: Grading each pick from the 2019 NBA Draft

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Cleveland Cavaliers Kevin Porter Jr. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Kevin Porter Jr. selection grade: A-

As our own Robbie DiPaola detailed, Porter did seemingly have some marks going against him, as his tenure at USC was spotty in large part due to reported ankle and knee injuries, to go with a suspension reportedly due to conduct issues.

All in all, Porter only had a 21-game sample size in his collegiate career and only started in four of those games.

It’s clear, though, that the star power could be there with Porter if he puts it all together.

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While the 19-year-old USC wing only averaged 9.5 points per game, he was efficient from the field, as he had an effective field goal clip of 56.1% and shot 41.2% from three-point range.

He could be a player that blossoms into a star if he’s brought along slowly over a few years.

Under the tutelage of head coach John Beilein and the coaching staff, Porter, while likely needing to have a fairly high usage, can be fully maximized, as he can create for himself pretty well and be a bench bucket-getter (like Jordan Clarkson currently is) early on in spurts, and DiPaola noted hit on that.

Porter has a ways to go, and his turnover rate of 17.9% wasn’t a ringing endorsement for him coming into the 2019 NBA Draft in terms of secondary playmaking, but though Cleveland gave up a bunch of second-round selections for him, this kid is worth the risk.

Anyhow, none of those second-rounders will likely be high ones, so I’m all for it.

Porter is a tremendous athlete that excels in transition, can create for himself in the halfcourt via isolations and pick-and-roll (and potentially in late-clock situations), and while I’m not sure if he’ll be able to play much off the ball, can eventually be one of the team’s key playmakers.

If he’s bought in, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Porter can be competent defensively guarding 2’s and 3’s with his quickness and NBA body at a listed 6-foot-5-and-a-half, and 213 pounds (per Tankathon).

So overall, I really, really like this selection by Cleveland, but I’ll admit, the James Harden comparisons are likely a stretch, and KPJ’s passing to me is a major question mark. It’s not far-fetched to say there’s All-Star potential, though, but he’ll need to work hard with Cleveland’s player development specialists, such as director of player development Mike Gerrity.