Cavs: Kevin Porter Jr. could be key piece, despite being 30th overall pick

The Cleveland Cavaliers walked into Brooklyn on Thursday night with two first-round picks in hand, but as the first round winded down in the 2019 NBA Draft, an opportunity presented itself that the Cavaliers could not pass up, and in came Kevin Porter Jr. 30th overall via trade with Detroit Pistons.

USC guard/wing Kevin Porter Jr., who was a lottery-level talent by some pundits, including Sporting News’ Chris Stone, still was on the board after the selection of Belmont wing Dylan Windler at number 26 by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, at least one member of the front office for Cleveland viewed Porter as a top-ten talent in the 2019 NBA Draft.

So with the help of a plethora of future second-round draft picks (four in fact, h/t 92.3 The Fan’s James Rapien and as was reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski), the Cavaliers orchestrated a trade with the Detroit Pistons to acquire pick number 30 and took the USC wing.

For the record, Detroit initially had that 30th overall selection due to a reported trade with the Miwaukee Bucks in which Milwaukee sent Detroit Tony Snell and that pick, and Detroit sent Milwaukee Jon Leuer (again, per Wojnarowski).

Again, this could be quite the steal by conventional wisdom, and from the Cavs’ perspective, per Fedor.

For the full details of the trade, which also included Cleveland sending Detroit $5 million in cash, here’s the complete details, per Fedor.

Along with that, Basketball Insiders’ Spencer Davies had more on the official details of trades, involving both Detroit-Milwaukee and from the Cavs-Pistons end, and this should be done by “mid-next week.”

Though Porter was viewed as a top-ten pick by some, he does not come without his faults. Porter missed a dozen games during his only season with the Trojans due to both reported quad and ankle injuries, and a suspension (h/t Rotowire).

That suspension was reportedly related to conduct issues (per the Los Angeles Times‘ Brady McCollough) he had while at USC, and the main concern for Porter as he enters the NBA is his maturity.

The USC wing also played only 22.1 minutes per night (per Sports Reference), which did not even rank in the top five on his team.

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In his brief time at USC, Porter flashed plenty of potential, and you could see at times why some said he was going to be a lottery pick. He reportedly tries to model his offensive game after James Harden (they are both left-handed shooters), and here and there, you see that.

He has the ability to hit step-back jumpers and can also handle the ball well overall. Additionally, with his above-average speed and explosiveness, Porter can push the ball up the floor in transition and finish at the rim with authority with both hands.

Though he scored just 9.5 points per game (though it was on an efficient 56.1% effective field goal shooting clip) in college, Porter showed signs of being a dependable outside shooter as he hit 41.2% from three-point territory (per Sports Reference).

But Porter can be more than just a scorer, as he averaged 1.5 steals and 7.2 rebounds per 40 minutes.

A downside to Porter’s offensive game though is his basketball IQ. This is highlighted by his 39 turnovers to just 30 assists in college.

He could not also consistently get to the rim when in halfcourt offensive sets and despite being a solid long-range shooter, only connected on 52.2 percent of his free throw attempts (per Sports Reference), which was odd.

Porter is seen in most NBA circles as a score-first wing, who has shown flashes on the defensive side of the ball, but overall did not show a ton of consistency on that end of the floor.

Coming into the draft, names like Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver, Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter, and Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke were thrown around as potential selections for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Those players all played with a defensive mindset and could produce on both ends of the floor.

But with Porter, we know what to expect right away. There’s an ability to score, with the defensive skill set being a work in progress.

Though he may never be an elite defender, it is a sure bet head coach John Beilein and his staff will be working all offseason and training camp with Kevin to ensure he becomes at minimum a reliable defensive player in the near future.

For Porter’s career, I envision him taking on a Jordan Clarkson role, being instant offense off the bench while learning the ins and outs of the NBA game.

Porter is a man who just turned 19, and still has time to develop fully, and if he fills his potential, could one day become a starter that averages 18-20.0 points per night and is an offensive threat every time he touches the ball, and he’s had quite the journey to get where he is now, as demonstrated in this Bleacher Report clip.

The overall theme of the 2019 NBA Draft was offense, as the Cleveland Cavaliers went with three players in the first round that can put the ball in the hoop (including Windler, who had 21.3 points per game his last season and shot 40.6% from deep in his four-year career, per Sports Reference).

Porter, along with Vanderbilt lead guard Darius Garland, the player Cleveland selected fifth overall, came into this draft with a lot of potential.

With the Cavaliers looking to build from the ground up, Cleveland general manager Koby Altman and the front office took a chance with these players and hopes they will become All-Stars or at the very least solid role players around key pieces in Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman and Kevin Love. This is in no way discrediting the Cavaliers’ scouting department, as I am sure the front office wholeheartedly believes all three players will one day make an impact on this team.

Before the draft, Porter was a player I had my eye on at the end of the first round, as there is minimal risk involved with taking him at 30.

Add in the motivation of playing in memory of his passed father as well as falling to the 30th pick, Cleveland could be just the place for Porter to launch his NBA career and everybody should be optimistic in that regard.