At the beginning of the 2019-20 season, I wouldn’t imagine Kevin Porter Jr. and Dylan Windler will be playing together a ton for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but as the year progresses, the minutes they share the floor should gradually increase.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a ton of guards that will need to play a considerable minutes-share on the floor. Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Jordan Clarkson, Brandon Knight, Matthew Dellavedova and Kevin Porter Jr. are all worthy of getting meaningful minutes at the season’s outset for Cleveland.
As we’ve often touched on here at KJG, though, Clarkson, Knight and Dellavedova are all on expiring contracts after the 2019-20 season (per Spotrac), and it’s reasonable that I’d think two of those three could be dealt by the 2020 NBA trade deadline, and with that feasibly being the case, more minutes should open up as the year progresses for Porter.
I wouldn’t expect that Porter will be playing a bunch of minutes at the 2 (or occasionally 3) early on next season, because while he is a very talented player, and should be able to create his own offense as a scorer early on in spurts, he still didn’t have the collegiate season he wanted at USC in 2018-19, and only played in 21 games and only started four of those contests while having an underwhelming scoring average for his talent of 9.5 points per game (per Sports Reference).
Cleveland knows what they have in a proven bench scorer in Clarkson and two solid catch-and-shoot players and decent playmakers in Knight and Delly, and Dylan Windler looks like a viable second-unit wing for Cedi Osman at the 3 in a reserve role right away, given him being a polished off-ball player as a cutter and three-point shooter (a career 40.6% three-point clip in four seasons at Belmont, per Sports Reference), and a player that is a decent secondary playmaker/ball-mover.
So, again, the numbers probably won’t be favorable early on, meaning I would assume the first 10-20 games of the season or so for Porter won’t be getting a good chunk of minutes, because I don’t see him playing much at the 3 over Windler, with Windler being a more proven player/volume perimeter shooter off-the-catch (though Porter did shoot 41.2% from three-point range at USC, per Sports Reference, but his play off-ball needs work), and the Cavs having Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, John Henson, Larry Nance Jr. and Ante Zizic occupying the big positions.
Of course, Thompson and/or Henson (both expiring) could be moved by the trade deadline and one could feasibly be moved well before that, but even so, with Cleveland needing to play Sexton and Garland together often to see how they can coexist, Porter’s minutes, again, could be limited in the season’s first few months (factoring in Osman, too).
That being said, with Windler’s shooting touch, along with his solid passing feel and ability to hit pull-ups after hard closeouts (placing in the 85th percentile in halfcourt pull-ups, per NBA.com), combined with Porter’s off-the-bounce shooting and athleticism, the two could feed off each other effectively on the floor together, especially in minutes with Nance and Dellavedova on the floor, who should both be able to hit Windler and Porter with timely passes as perimeter shooters and cutters.
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Along with that, with Porter’s explosiveness and impressive handle in settled situations and with him likely being able to get penetration against bench defenders consistently in pick-and-roll scenarios with either Nance or Ante Zizic being the screener, the attention drawn by that playtype should free up Windler for catch-and-shoots often.
Furthermore, Porter’s vision is pretty good for a 19-year-old when given chances to utilize it, despite his rough 30-39 assist-to-turnover total at USC (per Sports Reference), and conversely, the listed at 6-foot-5.5, 213-pound Porter (per Tankathon) could be a regular recipient of lob passes on the weak side or strong side corner passes with Windler finding that pass as either a pick-and-roll ball handler or roller on occasion.
On the defensive end, Porter has a ton of potential to wreak havoc both on and off the ball (as KJG’s own Tyler Marling detailed) on the perimeter with the way he can sit and slide against primary ball-handlers and get his hands in passing lanes to disrupt offenses as a helper, and though the listed at 196-pound (per Tankathon) Windler will probably have issues early on on-ball against NBA wings, he appears to be well-aware (and capable at a listed at 6-foot-7.5 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan per Tankathon) as a rotator to shooters and can at least aid Nance and others on the glass a good deal.
Windler had 7.8 rebounds per game at Belmont thanks to sound position, and he could potentially hit outlet passes to Porter or bring the ball up in secondary transition as well, which is valuable.
Now, it’s unclear how much Windler and Porter will play alongside Garland together with a three-rookie lineup likely producing a bunch of headaches, but a Garland-Porter-Windler-Love-Nance/Ante Zizic could be intriguing as the season progresses in meaningful minutes on occasion for Cleveland Cavaliers head coach John Beilein and company, and after the trade deadline, in particular.
While those two suggested lineups would have their defensive limitations, the Cavs in general will have a bunch of those in 2019-20, anyway, and clearly, with the focus on player development and team keeping their top-10 protected 2020 first-rounder, there’s no reason not to try lineups with inside-out options and multiple off-the-bounce scorers and/or playmakers out.
So, again, though it likely won’t happen early on next season, as the chemistry of the two grows with more practice time and game run together, Porter and Windler should gradually play more minutes together as their rookie year progresses (potentially in the 18-19 minute range near the end of the year), and especially with a quality secondary playmaker on the floor with them in Nance a sizable chunk.
With NBA coaching around them in a rebuilding enviroment, Porter and Windler’s progression as scorers and playmakers could be aided greatly by them playing a considerabale minutes-share on the floor together, as Cleveland does not have a bevy of natural wings on the roster, anyway, and with both needing to get meaningful minutes to help their development, Cleveland should get them on the floor together more as the year progresses, and with Garland or Sexton in spurts if/when one or multiple expiring guards/bigs are moved.