Three Cleveland Cavaliers players that will disappoint next season
By Zane Harris
One of three Cavs that will disappoint: Kevin Porter Jr.
The second player that will be disappointing for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season is Kevin Porter Jr. He was selected with the 30th overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft from USC. Porter was one of the few bright spots on the roster last year. Despite where he was selected in the draft (formally via trade with the Detroit Pistons), it appears that he will end up being one of the sleepers from the draft.
Porter Jr. finished the year averaging 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. These are not bad numbers at all with Porter Jr. being a bench player who only averaged 23.2 minutes a game.
Along with this, he was a bright spot on defense. Although he does not average one steal or a block a game, Porter Jr. was still one of the few impact defenders on the Cavaliers last season. His defensive plus-minus was only -0.6 last season which is not bad when considering this is overall a team stat and Porter Jr. cannot defend all five players on the court.
There are no on the court reasons as to why Porter Jr. will be disappointing this season. He is one of the few sleepers that the Cavs have hit on in recent history. Along with this, he has great potential and a build that leaves him capable of playing many positions.
Where he will be disappointing this season is that he may not be able to get the chance to show a second-year jump. Porter hasn’t participated much in Cavs training camp due to legal matters, albeit he reportedly has since been back in the practice fold, per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor. But a slow start and/or a disappointment in Year 2 could seemingly be in the cards, given such a long layoff for him/the Cavs in general, too.