Kevin Porter Jr. can become Cavs’ best defender in near future

Positional switchability

I’ll first touch on that Porter has had his struggles from time to time from an individual perspective defensively, but for a rookie, let alone one that only started four collegiate games in his lone season at USC, that’s understandable.

Porter does need to cut down on unnecessary fouls, and he does need to clean up his closeouts as he can over-extend at times. In plenty of stretches throughout his rookie season, though, he’s done more than commendable work on-ball defensively.

That’s even been against 3’s, and he’s definitely held his own in terms of being in better position to deter drives than say, a slower and less fluid Cedi Osman, who has been Cleveland’s starting 3.

Anyway, while it’s based on potential at this point and from what I’ve seen thus far, if he can be mostly healthy in coming years, Porter could have noteworthy positional switchability.

Granted, him staying healthy is a relative question mark, as KPJ has missed 13 games this year combined due to a left knee sprain and a concussion (and he missed another, and was for suspended for one), but the Cavs do not have other players than KPJ that are legitimately able to guard 1-3.

Porter has shown he’s capable in plenty of stretches of walling off perimeter drivers, staying attached to deter pull-ups and dump-offs in pick-and-roll coverage, and he has very strong and quick hands that have often limited opponents’ effectiveness when trying to create separation.

That combination is not one that other regular rotation players for Cleveland have been able to show on even a semi-consistent basis, either, at least on the perimeter, and even Alfonzo McKinnie when healthy is not nearly as switchable.

Plus, that’s been shown in primary matchups against 1-3 for KPJ at times throughout the year, as he has guarded a variety of primary playmakers, which has helped out pieces such as Darius Garland and Osman to some degree already. That’s been with fairly inconsistent rim protection behind Porter for many of his minutes, too, as his former teammate John Henson didn’t play a ton in most instances, and trade deadline addition Andre Drummond is still in a somewhat feel-out process with the Cavs on both ends.

In terms of Drummond in this semi-debate, here, who I believe will eventually opt into his $28.8 million player option for 2020-21 and could end up being a nice pairing with Kevin Love, he is a very active interior rotator and nice post-up defender. I applaud him for being second in the league in steals this season thus far, too, and even more so as a center (according to Basketball Reference).

That being said, Drummond is not a player that can realistically make an impact outside the paint on D all that much, and he can get exposed in PnR coverage against perimeter players.

At any rate, for now, the expiring Tristan Thompson, who is reportedly unlikely to re-sign with the Cavs in the coming offseason (whenever that will be), per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, is probably the Cavs’ best defender on the roster currently. Also, Nance, who is a tremendous defensive communicator as well and who can more than hold his own in PnR, could be in that conversation, too.

However, with Porter’s combination of athleticism, quick and active hands both on and off-ball, his encouraging recognition skills, solid 6-foot-9 wingspan and his potential to be more and more a very switchable defender 1-3 as well, I firmly believe he can become the Cleveland Cavaliers’ best defender in the near future.

Now if the Cavs ended up adding Auburn’s Isaac Okoro or USC’s Onyeka Okongwu in 2020 NBA Draft, perhaps I’d revise that feeling. Either way, though, KPJ has big-time potential on both ends of the floor for Cleveland, and I also believe Cleveland head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will get the most out of KPJ, given that Bickerstaff and the rookie have reportedly developed a pretty lasting relationship already.