Cavs: Kevin Porter Jr.-Onyeka Okongwu would be a promising duo

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a high quality youngster in Kevin Porter Jr., who will only get better.

It would seem as though we’ll see Kevin Porter Jr. play a starting minutes-share in most instances in 2020-21 for the Cleveland Cavaliers, whether or not he does eventually end up in a starting role next season. Porter’s role should be expanded in his second season for Cleveland, given how he progressed steadily in his rookie year, and flashed tons of potential.

Porter had 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 23.2 minutes per game, and with his handle/ability to generate space, finishing touch, spot-up efficiency as a rookie and his passing feel, he would appear to have a high ceiling.

Although he does need to improve his closeouts to catch-and-shoot players, Porter held his own on-ball defensively in year 1, too, and him posting 1.4 steals per-36 minutes was another bright spot from his 2019-20 campaign.

Again, though, when it comes to his outlook for next season and beyond, it’s evident that KPJ will be in a significant role offensively, and while in terms of bigs, him and Larry Nance Jr. will be a duo to watch, at least as key bench pieces, another piece I believe would mesh very well with Porter.

Who am I thinking of in that realm? That’s USC big Onyeka Okongwu, who would be a great pick I believe by the Cavs in the 2020 NBA Draft. Okongwu had a really productive 2019-20 for the Trojans in what was his lone collegiate season, in which he had 16.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.

Porter and Okongwu would be a really promising duo for the Cleveland Cavaliers, too.

Projecting onward, I’d expect KPJ to be one of Cleveland’s key pick-and-roll ball handlers, and though his finishing on pull-ups hopefully will improve, Porter proved to change speeds particularly well for a young player in that sense.

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Plus, him having an assist rate of 17.1 percent in his final 12 games active as a rookie, also factoring in what he showed as the year progressed, demonstrated that he’s a willing and capable passer off of drives/PnR creation.

In this case, that’s where I believe Okongwu would mesh harmoniously as a roller, feasibly in minutes at the 5, alongside KPJ for stretches. That’d be in relief of Andre Drummond, who fully intends to pick up his $28.8 million player option for next season.

Frankly, with Okongwu being a much more versatile and switchable defender on-ball, I could see him as a factor in closing lineups next season for Cleveland, too.

When on the subject of a Porter-Okongwu pairing, Okongwu again would make for a prime pocket pass target in the rolling sense for KPJ, who did cut down on turnovers on those type of plays more so as his season progressed.

Those opportunities would lead to high percentage looks for Okongwu as well, who is capable of finishing above the rim after rolls and/or after lob feeds, but also displayed good touch on push shots/interior looks. It’s not exclusively the PnR game that would make factor into this potential duo for the Cavs, though.

Porter, who Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff wanted to feature at times at the 1 in what was initially supposed to be much more games regarding the season’s closing stretch but did not due to the hiatus and eventual of 2019-20 for Cleveland, should be one of Cleveland’s primary playmakers.

Porter would be able to get Okongwu his share of looks in the low-post, too, and while that would likely lead to high percentage shots via hooks and some drop steps, it could lead to cutting chances for KPJ.

While his 1.1-to-2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio didn’t exactly sell it for the 2020 NBA Draft, Okongwu is a gifted passer for a big. With floor spacers such as feasibly Collin Sexton for stretches/Darius Garland, and definitely Dylan Windler, if he’s mostly healthy, Okongwu could at least be able to hit a cutting KPJ a bunch if doubles come, too.

In that sense, Porter, whose cutting feel got better throughout his rookie year, should be able to finish at a high clip, as he placed in the 92nd percentile as a cutter in 2019-20, per Synergy Sports. Coupled with that, as he gets more comfortable, I’d imagine in stretches on the floor together, Okongwu could get KPJ some deliveries for catch-and-shoot perimeter looks, along with others, which would pay off for the Cavs team offense as Okongwu would get more experience.

Okongwu could be a good passer on occasion operating out of the elbow, too, as he’s definitely able to do so, and with NBA spacing, that could bode well for him for feeds to Porter cutting along the baseline, Windler and/or others.

In addition, while Okongwu has a ways to go to become a viable three-point shooter, he flashed mid-range face-up ability as a roller, and in operating with Porter in that way, who is a key driving threat, I’d think we could see Okongwu be dangerous in that regard. Him hitting 72.0 percent of his free throws was encouraging for a big, too.

Lastly, though I can’t say if he’d be a grab-and-go threat early on after defensive rebounds such as Nance, Okongwu does run the floor really well, and with his athleticism/quickness, Okongwu would make for a good transition threat. KPJ would be able to find him in secondary transition after quick seals via cross-matching and/or in odd man situations, too.

To touch on the defensive end, Porter, who did show the ability to often limit opposing drivers and seemed to anticipate pull-ups better as his season progressed, could be greatly aided by a terrific team defender in Okongwu, too, and Porter could be more disruptive as a result.

Okongwu is a formidable shot blocking presence, as evidenced by him averaging 2.7 blocks per game at USC, and he has outstanding instincts as a rotator, which led to 1.2 steals per outing. Taking that into account, I could see him and Porter being really promising defenders for the Cavs in coming years with their team defensive feel, quickness and athleticism, too.

If the Cavs were to select Okongwu in the 2020 NBA Draft, KPJ would benefit in a big way from that, I believe, and Okongwu I could see showing plenty of signs of being Cleveland’s 5 man of the future.