It’s unfortunate that Cavs are likely to trade or release Kevin Porter Jr.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly likely to either trade or release Kevin Porter Jr.

We have not seen Kevin Porter Jr. yet this season fpr the Cleveland Cavaliers because of personal reasons. Porter was arrested in mid-November following him being involved in a single-car rollover crash in Mahoning County, after which Porter was was not injured, nor impaired. That was great in itself at the same time learning of the crash, though.

He was then cited for failure to control, but then was originally arrested based on felony charges of improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, after there was a .45 caliber handgun found in said vehicle, and there was reportedly suspension of marijuana located in the vehicle. That led a misdemeanor possession of marijuana charge, as well.

That said, his marijuana charge was dismissed, and after it was originally bound to a grand jury, Porter’s firearm charge was also dismissed, of which you can view previously reported details on both here. The failure to control charge was also dropped.

Porter’s aforementioned legal issues over this past offseason are seemingly behind him, but he missed a significant portion of training camp, and the Cavaliers were working him back. His timetable to return to game action was reportedly uncertain, anyhow, and they needed him to be worked back into playing shape, and for him to be emotionally ready to go.

It appears now, though, that Porter, who showed such promise last season, has his days numbered with the Cavaliers.

According to a Monday report from The Athletic‘s Joe Vardon, Jason Lloyd and Kelsey Russo, and Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (subscription required), the Cavs are expected to trade or release Porter “following an outburst Friday in the Cavs locker room,” which is a gut punch.

The outburst stemmed from Porter being upset that his old locker was given to Taurean Prince, a recent trade acquisition, and was moved toward where the “younger, end-of-bench players,” are, and at one point, “began yelling” and “threw food.”

Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman tried to calm Porter down, but Porter didn’t seem to take to that, per the Vardon/Lloyd/Russo/Charania report. As a result, Cleveland reportedly tried to trade Porter over the past few days.

As a Cavs fan, this is unfortunate to learn about when it comes to Porter.

Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, while emphasizing that The Athletic first reported the outburst, did note in a report how Porter was welcomed back to practice on Thursday, and to the bench for Cleveland’s win on Friday against the New York Knicks, and that seemed to be a positive sign.

From there, however, Fedor then alluded to how with Porter, the organization is essentially growing tired of Porter making positive strides, but then taking a few steps back it appears. Fedor noted how given immaturity concerns/the latest, Cleveland has again, in line with The Athletic‘s report, been fielding trade offers but if a deal can’t be reached soon, he’ll be released.

For a bit further context, per Spencer Davies of Basketball News, Porter’s locker was reportedly moved based on “NBA seniority and spacing to adhere to COVID-19 protocols.” Albeit he continued to be combative with Altman, and per Davies’ report, “Porter was heard yelling about ‘modern-day slavery.'”

Davies then noted how KPJ is not allowed back in the Cavs practice facility and that Cleveland could potentially try to package Porter with a big in a trade. And one would imagine, given recent rumors/reports, after Cleveland acquired Jarrett Allen via trade, the expiring Andre Drummond or JaVale McGee could be involved.

Drummond, who is set to be on the books for $28.8 million this season, will be I’d think more so looked to be moved later on, though, albeit McGee, who is due $4.2 million, would be much easier to move for the Cavs, should they choose to do so.

This is, to reiterate, unfortunate that after Porter showed such encouraging signs last season as a rookie, in which he had 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game as mostly a bench contributor, that he can’t seem to keep moving forward.

Immaturity issues appeared to have led to Porter dropping in the 2019 draft, and Cleveland ended up trading for him and in a deal in which they then sent four future second-round picks to the Detroit Pistons, who had the pick via deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, they selected Porter 30th overall.

The Cavs ended up sending a record $5 million in cash to Detroit as well.

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For a player of Porter’s caliber, though, when weighing his potential, that seemed to be a very good move, at least from my perspective, and I firmly believe many Cavs fans’, too. Porter needs to get himself right mentally, and that’s evident.

But the on-floor talent is there, and as Fedor hit on in his report, the Cleveland Cavaliers are sold on that part of it.

Porter is such a talented player when factoring in his driving/finishing ability, handle to create space, playmaking feel, which was a bright spot to me, especially, and his defensive potential on the perimeter is notable.

The 20-year-old’s athleticism also stands out, and he appeared to be a key young piece alongside guys such as Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro and/or Dylan Windler, that had big-time ability. And KPJ seemed to only be getting started.

We’ll have to see what ultimately plays out with Porter/the Cavs, but God, is this situation unfortunate. I hope Porter can find his way.

And regarding the Cavs, I’d expect Cleveland to potentially have more of an inclination to target a 2 and/or combo guard in the 2021 NBA Draft. Prospects such as Jalen Green, Jalen Suggs, or Josh Christopher, among others, and obviously Cade Cunningham if they landed #1 somehow, come to mind.

That’s more so if they ended up releasing Porter, for what it’s worth; combo forwards such as Jalen Johnson or a point forward-type (at the NBA level) in Scottie Barnes could very well be in the mix, too.

Again, though, it’s so tough to learn about that news involving KPJ. Hopefully he can get himself right.