Cavs: 3 keys to a successful rookie season for Kevin Porter Jr.

Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Kevin Porter Jr. could end up being a key contributor in the near future, but his development can’t be rushed, and if he can be groomed into a nice rotation player in the second half of 2019-20, that’s a win.

The Cleveland Cavaliers may have gotten a steal in the 2019 NBA Draft in USC guard/wing Kevin Porter Jr., a player that Cleveland traded back into the first round (at 30th overall) for, thanks to four future second-round picks (according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic‘s Shams Charania) and $5.0 million in cash (according to Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor) the Cavaliers sent to the Detroit Pistons, as we’ve previously noted.

Detroit initially had that pick due to a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks reported by Wojnarowski before the draft, anyhow, and for the record, the Porter trade with Detroit is not official yet, but appears that it should be finalized this week, according to a report from Basketball Insiders’ Spencer Davies.

Okay, so what could the Cavaliers be getting in the 19-year-old USC product?

Well, as KJG contributors seemed to hit on in the latest roundtable, a perimeter player that could provide a bunch of scoring potential, and especially as a bench spark-plug in the near future.

That to me, is the first key for Porter to have a successful 2019-20 (rookie) season, in showing he can be developed into a potential bench primary playmaker.

#1: Showing bench primary playmaking potential

Porter is an outstanding athlete that uses his combination of explosiveness, strength and tight handle to get separation from opposing defenders often, and at 6-foot-five-and-a-half, 213 pounds (per Tankathon), he appears to have the look of a player that can potentially be a franchise two guard for the Cavaliers, or in some lineups, play the 3.

Porter did have a rocky one season at USC, though, and it’s likely the reason why he slid all the way down to the last pick of the first round.

He only started in four games for the Trojans, and missed 12 games due to a combination of reported ankle and quad injuries, along with a suspension (h/t Rotowire).

That suspension was reportedly due to conduct issues, according to Brady McCollough of the Los Angeles Times, and as our own Robbie DiPaola hit on, Porter has to mature in the coming years to be a player that comes near hitting his ceiling, or does reach it.

That being said, even though Porter only played 22.1 minutes per game and only averaged 9.5 points, he was efficient in having an effective field goal clip of 56.1%, including shooting 41.2% from three-point range.

As KJG contributors have mentioned a number of times, Porter has big-time ability to get where he wants on the floor with step-backs, hang and hesitation dribbles and can change speeds well for a young player, too, which I believe can allow him to get more room to finish near the rim if opposing defenders start to overplay his perimeter shots.

The key, though, for Porter of course, is not falling too in love with the J, as was way too often the case in his one season in college, as Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman detailed.

As likely a bench player in 2019-20, I’d like to see Porter get some pick-and-roll usage, and although his per 40 minutes assist average of just 2.6 didn’t set the world on fire, Porter did show some quality passing vision last year.

If he can find a way to cut down on turnovers playing for head coach John Beilein and the Cavaliers’ coaching staff (a turnover rate of 17.9% in 2018-19), maybe Porter could at least develop into a solid kick-out passer after penetrating and hit complementary pieces such as Dylan Windler in the corner, or Larry Nance Jr. on lobs, along with at times pieces such as Kevin Love and Cedi Osman on the perimeter.

Playing with a solid veteran backup point guard in Matthew Dellavedova should help Porter make better decisions, too, that is if Delly is not traded, as he is an expiring piece after next season.

As the aforementioned DiPaola suggested, perhaps Porter can become a younger replacement for Jordan Clarkson in the next few years as instant offense off the bench, but hopefully become less of a ball-stopper, as Wasserman noted he can be occasionally.